






















































Class _ 

Book *3 ^ J 
Copyright N°_ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 












i 


Our Little Persian Cousin 


THE 

Little Cousin Series 

(trade mark) 

Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates in 
tint. Cloth, i2mo, with decorative cover, 
per volume, 60 cents 

LIST OF TITLES 
By Mary Hazelton Wade 

(unless otherwise indicated) 


Our Little African Cousin 
Our Little Alaskan Cousin 

By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 

Our Little Arabian Cousin 

By Blanche McManus 
Our Little Armenian Cousin 
Our Little Australian Cousin 
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
Our Little Brazilian Cousin 
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
Our Little Brown Cousin 
Our Little Canadian Cousin 
By Elizabeth R. MacDonald 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 
By Isaac Taylor Headland 
Our Little Cuban Cousin 
Our Little Dutch Cousin 

By Blanche McManus 

Our Little Egyptian Cousin 

By Blanche McManus 

Our Little English Cousin 

By Blanche McManus 
Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
Our Little French Cousin 

By Blanche McManus 
Our Little German Cousin 
Our Little Greek Cousin 

By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 

L. C. PAGE 

New England Building, 


Our Little Hawaiian Cousin 
Our Little Hindu Cousin 

By Blanche McManus 
Our Little Hungarian Cousin 
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
Our Little Indian Cousin 
Our Little Irish Cousin 
Our Little Italian Cousin 
Our Little Japanese Cousin 
Our Little Jewish Cousin 
Our Little Korean Cousin 

By H. Lee M. Pike 
Our Little Mexican Cousin 

By Edward C. Butler 
Our Little Norwegian Cousin 
Our Little Panama Cousin 

By H. Lee M. Pike 
Our Little Persian Cousin 

By E. C. Shedd 
Our Little Philippine Cousin 
Our Little Porto Rican Cousin 
Our Little Russian Cousin 
Our Little Scotch Cousin 

By Blanche McManus 
Our Little Siamese Cousin 
Our Little Spanish Cousin 

By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
Our Little Swedish Cousin 

By Claire M. Coburn 
Our Little Swiss Cousin 
Our Little Turkish Cousin 

r COMPANY 

Boston, Mass. 





















































































. 
























' . 















HE CARRIED IT HOME ON HIS SHOULDER.” 

(See page 92.) 


























































































. 



































































































WM ■ 




. 














































































4 4 

| Our Little Persian | 
$ Cousin I 


4 


4 


4 

4 

4 

4 

4 - 

4 

4 

4 

* 

4 ~ 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 ~ 

4 

4 

4 

4 

b* 


By 

E. Cutler Shedd 


4 

4 

4 

4 

-4 


Illustrated by 

Diantha W. Horne 


4 

4 

4 

4 

-4 



4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
~4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 


Boston 

L. C. Page & Company 
MDCCCCIX 







S' 1 ' 2 ' 


Copyright , 7909 
By L. C. Page & Company 

(incorporated) 

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London 


All rights reserved 
First Impression, July, iqoq 


EloetrotyOed and Printed at 
THE COLONIAL PRESS: 
C. H . Sitnonds Is* Co., Boston, U.S.A. 




l.-.-, 13800 

J U L 20 f 909 








Preface 


Persia is mostly a tableland, from which 
rise many high mountains. In the winter 
come storms of snow and rain; in the spring 
the ground is green with grass and bright 
with many flowers; but in the late summer 
and fall it is dry and hot. Over the moun¬ 
tains wander the Kurds, who live in tents, 
and drive with them the great flocks of 
goats and sheep whose milk gives them 
food and from whose wool they weave their 
clothing and rugs. In many of the* valleys 
are villages. Here live the busy Persian 
peasants, who have brought the water in 
long channels from its bed in the valleys 
to water their fields and orchards. Where 



VI 


Preface 


plenty of water is found there are towns 
and cities. 

Over two thousand years ago the kings 
of the Persians were the most powerful in 
the world, and ruled all the country from 
India to Europe. Some of them helped 
the Jews, as is told in the books of Ezra and 
Nehemiah in the Old Testament. Two of 
them tried to conquer Greece, but the brave 
Greeks defeated their armies in the famous 
battles of Marathon and Salamis. Many 
years later the Greeks themselves under 
Alexander the Great invaded Persia and 
won its empire. But the Persians after¬ 
wards regained the power, and for five cen¬ 
turies held their own against the armies of 
the Roman emperors. 

Suddenly great armies of Arabs poured 
out from the wide desert land of Arabia, 
eager to conquer the world, and to bring 
others to accept the new religion taught by 


Preface 


Vll 


their prophet, Muhammad. Thousands of 
them entered Persia. They induced the 
Persians to forsake their own religion, 
called fire worship, and to become Muham¬ 
madans. 

Six hundred years passed, when new and 
more terrible invaders spread over the land. 
These were armies of horsemen armed with 
bows, who came in thousands from the wide 
plains of Siberia. They were the ancestors 
of the Turks. They destroyed a great many 
villages and cities, and killed tens of thou¬ 
sands of the Persians. Even yet, after more 
than five hundred years, one may see in 
Persia ruins made by them. A great many 
Turks still live in northern Persia. 

The Persians are now a weak and igno¬ 
rant nation; but the most progressive of 
them are trying to secure good schools and 
to improve their country in other ways. 



Contents 


CHAPTER , AGB 


I. 

Karim Arrives 




i 

II. 

Karim’s Relatives and Home 




9 

III. 

Karim Goes Exploring 




18 

IV. 

The Evil Eye Strikes Karim 




25 

V. 

Karim at Work and Play . 




35 

VI. 

A Trip to the City 




49 

VII. 

Karim’s Religion . 




60 

VIII. 

Karim’s Good Fortune 




70 

IX. 

Karim Leaves Home . 




81 

X. 

Karim Goes to Market 




86 

XI. 

Karim at the Palace . 




93 

XII. 

SoHRAB AND RUSTEM 




102 

XIII. 

New Opportunities 




"3 

XIV. 

Two Important Events 




121 

XV. 

Among the Kurds 




130 

XVI. 

Rumours of War . 




137 

XVII. 

Sheikh Tahar 




144 

XVIII. 

A Battle and What Came of 

It 



155 

XIX. 

Farewell to Karim 




162 








List of Illustrations 


PAGB 


“ He carried it home on his shoulder ” ( See page 

92). Frontispiece ^ 


“ He was so fat that her back often ached ” 

“ Here Karim sat all day ”. 

“ Dada and Karim started very early ” . 

“ The sun rose when they were half way over ” 

The Governor’s Palace. 

“ Putting the paper on his knee as he sat on the 

FLOOR ” . 

A Kurdish Shepherd. 

Sheikh Tahar and His Horsemen . 

Karim and His Bride. 


18 ^ 

37 " 
49 " 

5 °- 

81 

118" 

130 

150 

164 








Our Little Persian Cousin 


CHAPTER I 

KARIM ARRIVES 

Every one in the house of Abdullah was 
smiling on the day when a boy was born. 
Even Ashak the donkey, as he was bringing 
big bundles of wheat from the field, did 
not get half as many pokes as usual from 
the nail pointed stick that took the place of 
a whip, and was actually let alone for a 
whole afternoon to eat the dead grass and 
crisp thistles by the roadside. 

Old Bajee, who was caring for the baby, 
ran as fast as she could to be the first to 
tell the news to Abdullah, calling out all 
the way, “ Good news! a boy! a boy!” 



2 Our Little Persian Cousin 

“ Praise be to God! ” exclaimed Abdul¬ 
lah, and gave her a piece of silver money 
worth half a dollar. Laughing from joy 
she clutched this tight in her fist, and al¬ 
most touched the ground with her forehead 
as she bowed to him. She had never owned 
half a dollar at one time except twice be¬ 
fore in her life. 

Abdullah hurried to the little shop 
around the corner and bought a loaf of 
sugar and some tea, and the tea urn, or 
samovar, was soon steaming. His neigh¬ 
bours — all men — came to congratulate 
him. Some brought raisins as a present, 
some melons. One brought another small 
loaf of sugar. 

“ May his foot be blessed!” they said. 
(They meant the baby’s foot.) “This is 
light to your eyes!” “May you be the 
father of eight boys and no girls!” 

Said Abdullah, “Praise be to God!” 


Karim Arrives 


3 


and gave them all small tumblers of tea 
that was nearly boiling and as sweet as 
sugar could make it. 

Meantime the women were coming to 
see the baby. Old Bajee had rubbed him 
all over with salt; then she had tied a 
dark handkerchief over his eyes and 
wrapped him up in strips of cotton cloth 
and a little quilt. He was now lying by 
his mother. She was thinking about the 
Evil Eye, — an evil spirit or fairy who 
was always trying to do bad things, — and 
looked anxiously at the baby’s arm. 

“Where is the charm, Bajee?” she 
asked. 

“Yes,” said a neighbour, “he needs a 
charm at once, for he is so very pretty.” 

“ Oh, don’t say that,” exclaimed the 
mother; “the Evil Eye will hurt him if 
you do. Bring the charm.” 

Bajee brought a piece of paper on which 


4 Our Little Persian Cousin 

the mullah (or preacher) had written a 
prayer asking the angels to keep the Evil 
Eye away, and putting this in a tiny bag 
she tied it to the baby’s right arm. “ That 
prayer will frighten the Evil Eye,” she 
said. 

All this seemed very interesting to Almas. 
How delightful it was to have a baby 
brother. She wondered why her uncle 
Mashaddi had not seemed greatly pleased 
when a baby girl had come to his house 
two weeks before. No one had even called 
to congratulate him. But now her father 
was getting up a dinner party, and they 
were roasting a whole lamb for it, and 
cooking, oh! so many other delicious 
things. She could smell the onions even 
from the street, so she asked her grand¬ 
mother for something good. 

Grandmother laughed and said, “ The 
front door cried for three days when you 


Karim Arrives 


5 

were born. But God gave you to us, and 
we are not sorry.” 

Then she gave Almas a big piece of 
bread with rice and meat heaped upon it, 
and some omelet mixed with molasses. 

Meantime mother was sleeping with 
baby by her side. Her last words had been, 
“ Bajee, be sure to keep the light burning, 
so that the evil spirits will be afraid and 
not get the baby.” 

When baby was just a week old, the 
preacher, whom they called the mullah, 
came to give him a name. He brought the 
holy book which was their Bible, and 
which they called the Koran. No one in 
that village believed in Jesus Christ in the 
way in which Christians do, but were in 
religion what we call Muhammadans. The 
mullah stood over the baby and read out of 
this Koran in a loud, sing-song voice. 

Baby was frightened, and cried. 


6 Our Little Persian Cousin 

The mullah did not stop, but next made 
a long prayer in words which no one else 
could understand, because he was speaking 
in Arabic, the holy language which Mu¬ 
hammad, the prophet who had composed 
the Koran, had spoken. Then he called 
out, “Your name is Karim!” 

Almas thought it was quite a funny sight 
to see his long red beard wagging back 
and forth while he made such strange 
sounds, and so she broke into a laugh, at 
which her father turned and struck her. 
She went out crying softly. She did not 
like the mullah. Why had he come to 
frighten baby? He had not named her 
little cousin. Old Bajee had shouted in 
her ear, “Your name is Fatima!” and 
that was all. 

After this Karim was laid in a very nar¬ 
row cradle without any sides, and long 
strips of cloth were wrapped around and 


Karim Arrives 


7 

around him and under the bottom of the 
cradle. His arms were tied down, and a 
calico curtain kept the light out. He lay 
in this dark little place nearly all the time 
for the first six months, generally asleep. 

Although Abdullah was very proud of 
him, he hardly noticed him for over a 
month, because the evil spirits would won¬ 
der what he was looking at and come to 
see. 

Once a day baby’s mother would build 
the fire for cooking, and the room would 
fill with smoke, because there was no chim¬ 
ney, but only a hole in the middle of the 
ceiling. At first he cried every time, for 
the smoke made his eyes smart with pain. 
His mother put some medicine upon them 
when she saw how red they had become, 
and asked Bajee what the matter was. 

“ How can I tell? ” said Bajee. “ Babies 
always have sore eyes.” 


8 Our Little Persian Cousin 

When the curtain was loose and it was 
not too dark the flies came to visit him. 
There seemed to be hundreds of them, and 
they walked all over his face and even into 
his mouth, but were especially fond of his 
red eyes and gathered in black rows around 
them. He winked and winked, but they 
did not care. Then he would begin to cry. 

After a while mother would come to fix 
the curtain and rock the cradle, or per¬ 
haps — and this was the best of all — she 
would undo the wrappings and take him 
in her arms for a few minutes, singing, 
“My dear baby! my sweet baby! You 
are my father! and the father of my 
father!” She meant that she thought as 
much of him as of her grandfather, and 
every one always talked as if people cared 
more for a grandfather than for any one 
else. 


CHAPTER II 


KARIM’S RELATIVES AND HOME 

ONE day Karim’s mother, whom he was 
now learning to call “Nana,” said to 
father Abdullah, “Master, your boy — 
may his eyes have light! — is now five 
months old, and ought to come out of his 
cradle. Buy some calico, and I will make 
another shirt for him. Do not buy red 
or any bright colour, so that the Evil Eye 
may not think him too pretty and so be¬ 
come jealous and strike him.” 

She made the shirt so short that his fat 
brown legs were bare to the knee. 

When he could crawl around in the 
house sister Almas watched him. It was 
too dark for him to see much, for all the 


9 


io Our Little Persian Cousin 

light came from the door, when that was 
open, and from the hole, about a foot 
square, in the middle of the ceiling, where 
the smoke at last went out. The door 
was so low that Nana had to stoop every 
time she went through it. The walls 
were black from the smoke, which Karim 
now found poured out each morning from 
a hole in the floor about as big as a large 
barrel. Nana did the cooking with the 
fire which she kept burning in this hole. 

One afternoon Karim looked down, and 
found that its bottom was all bright with 
light which came from glowing red lumps. 
It was the prettiest thing he had ever seen, 
and he grasped the edge and leaned away 
over to see still better. Just then Almas 
screamed and jerked him back by his foot 
so suddenly that the skin of his hands was 
scratched by the rough edge. Of course 
he cried. 


Karims Relatives and Home 11 

Nana came running in, and snatching 
him up exclaimed between her sobs, 
“ Awy! my precious! he might have 
fallen in!” Then she struck Almas, so 
that she, too, cried. 

After this Karim had to be satisfied 
with the bright light shining in through 
the hole above his head, and with the two 
round trays which, leaning against the 
wall, shone like polished silver until at last 
the smoke darkened them. They remained 
so until the next year, when a man came 
from the city and polished them over 
again. 

In the daytime there were large piles of 
bedclothes tightly rolled up near the 
cradle. A few rugs lay folded beside 
them. There were no tables or chairs or 
bedsteads, and the floor was simply the 
hard earth. In the corner were a few 
green bowls, and some wooden spoons and 




12 Our Little Persian Cousin 

copper plates. These were the dishes for 
the meals. Just across from the door stood 
a wooden chest, half as high as the room. 
This was where all the flour was put in 
the autumn, when Abdullah had packed 
it down carefully by stamping upon it 
with his bare feet. Near it was a door 
opening into darkness, through which 
Karim was afraid to crawl. 

When he tired of these things, he looked 
at the chickens, — an old rooster dressed 
in red and black, but without any tail (he 
had never had any), and two or three 
clucking old biddies in sober gray, besides 
a half dozen others, hungry looking, half 
grown, with long legs. Like the flies, they 
came into the house whenever the door was 
open. If Nana left any food standing even 
for a minute she had to cover it. They 
came at meal time as regularly as if they 
had been invited, and fought with each 


Karim’s Relatives and Home 13 

other for the scraps of bread or bits of 
gristle that Abdullah threw away. Several 
times the rooster snatched the piece of 
bread which Karim was eating right out 
of his hand; but when he laid the bread 
down to crow for the biddies, one of the 
half grown chickens caught it up and ran 
around the room with it, chased by all of 
his hungry brothers. 

The family got up every morning when 
it was just beginning to become light. All 
but Karim were busy nearly the whole of 
the day. When the sun was two or three 
hours high — no one had a clock — Ab¬ 
dullah came in for breakfast. 

At meal time Nana brought the large 
tray that took the place of a table, and 
Abdullah set it upon the floor and laid 
upon it two or three sheets of bread which 
looked a good deal like brown paper, 
and was as thick as heavy pasteboard. It 


14 Our Little Persian Cousin 

was made of whole wheat flour and tasted 
very good. Nana poured the soup out of 
a small kettle into one of the green bowls. 
Sometimes the soup was mixed with pieces 
of meat and onions, and was red with pep¬ 
per; sometimes it was made of curded 
milk and greens. There were also onions 
and salted cheese and red peppers for side 
dishes, with cucumbers and melons and 
other fruits in summer. 

Abdullah sat down on the floor upon 
his heels and ate alone, until Karim was 
old enough, when he always ate with 
“ Dada,” as he called his father, while 
Nana and Almas waited upon them. They 
never dreamed of eating with Dada, for 
that would have been very impolite, but 
when he had finished they sat down and ate 
what was left. 

There were no knives and forks — what 
were fingers made for? — and no plates or 


Karim’s Relatives and Home 15 

tumblers, for all ate out of the same bowl 
and drank from the same water jug. 

Between meals Nana was very busy. 
First came the milking of the cow; then 
the bedclothes must be rolled up and the 
stable cleaned out, and there was sweeping 
and churning to be done. The water must 
be brought upon her back in a heavy jar 
from the spring. In winter the cotton and 
wool was spun into yarn and knit into 
bright coloured socks, and in summer she 
helped Abdullah gather the cotton or the 
tobacco, and worked in the orchard or 
wheat-field. In the fall she swept up the 
leaves which fell from the trees growing 
on the edges of the streams and carried 
them home on her back to be stored for 
kindling. 

While Nana was working she usually 
went barefoot. She had large black eyes, 
and she made them bright by putting a 


16 Our Little Persian Cousin 

powder into them. She painted a black 
streak across her eyebrows to make them 
darker. Her black hair, hanging in long 
braids down her back, was banged in 
front, and was covered by a large hand¬ 
kerchief which she wore all the time. 
Very carefully, once a month, she dyed 
her hair and coloured with red the tips of 
her finger and toe nails. 

Because she was careful about all these 
things and was somewhat fleshy and had red 
cheeks, her neighbours thought her beauti¬ 
ful; that is, the women thought so. The 
men hardly ever saw her face, because she 
always drew something over it whenever 
any man except Dada came near. 

The men never asked him, “ How is your 
wife and little girl?” which would have 
insulted him, but always said, “ How is 
your boy? ” and sometimes, perhaps, 
“ How is the mother of your boy? ” 


Karim’s Relatives and Home 17 

Still Dada was really proud of her, but 
of course he was careful not to let her see 
it, “ for,” he said, “ she is a woman, and 
must be kept under.” He seldom called 
her by any sweet name, but when he wanted 
to praise her called her simply “ the mother 
of Karim,” and thought that, alone, was 
enough. 


CHAPTER III 


KARIM GOES EXPLORING 

In pleasant weather Nana tied Karim 
upon Almas’ back and sent her out of doors 
to carry him around. He was so fat that 
her back often ached, yet when a woman 
asked her if she was not tired she exclaimed, 
“ Why, of course not! He is my brother.” 
However, they were all so anxious to see 
him walking that he soon became bow- 
legged. 

He now found what was to be seen out 
of doors. The yard was small, and there 
was no grass in it, nothing but the bare 
earth. When it rained the cattle tramped 
it into a deep black mud, which made a 
splendid place to sit in and play. Across 

18 




tfttSiAgfc Jtfk -* >* 

i^k Fi»j 


3 

f 4- W'm 


a 


99 


HE WAS SO FAT THAT HER BACK OFTEN ACHED 












































































































































Karim Goes Exploring 19 

the yard was the door of the stable, where 
the donkey and the cow and two buffalos 
lived with a few goats. In front was a 
wall six feet high. 

Just before the front door of the house 
was a small porch, where the big dog and 
the chickens spent the most of their time. 
The calves came there, too, and the dog, 
but he never dared to come into the 
house. Nana explained that he was “un¬ 
clean,” and the mullah said that it was a 
wicked thing to allow “ unclean ” animals 
to come into the living rooms. Karim liked 
to hit the dog, who always let him do just 
what he wanted. 

One day when Nana was away, sud¬ 
denly a fierce barking and snarling was 
heard, mixed with shouts. Almas ran out 
to find that a stranger had stepped into the 
yard, and that the dog had caught him by 
the ankle and would not let go, although 


20 Our Little Persian Cousin 

the man was hitting hard with his heavy 
walking stick. Almas was then only eight 
years old, but she put her foot on the dog’s 
neck and raised her fist. The dog growled 
angrily before he obeyed her and slunk 
away. Some neighbours now came run¬ 
ning in. 

“ Did you not know better than to 
enter a yard when no one was in sight? ” 
said they to the stranger. 

Then Mashaddi had Almas cut off 
some hairs from the shaggy neck of the 
dog. He took these hairs into the house 
and burned them, and brought the ashes 
to the stranger, who seemed very grateful. 

“ Thanks to you, if God will, the wound 
will heal very fast,” he said, as he 
sprinkled the ashes on it and wrapped 
it around with an old piece of cloth. 
“ Not even a doctor could give me better 
medicine than this.” 


Karim Goes Exploring 21 

The cat was allowed to come into the 
house, and was often there at dinner time 
with the chickens. Sometimes Almas 
petted her a little, and Nana threw her 
some food once in a while, but even they 
tried to hit her if she got in their way. 
She spent the most of the day hiding 
under the piles of fuel and in the dark 
stable in the Hay. The dogs were anxious 
to chase her, and the boys were making 
bets as to who could hit her oftenest. 
Abbas was bragging because he had done 
it twice, for she was hard to hit, because 
she had practised dodging all of her life. 

The door which opened into the dark 
from the family living room led to the 
store room. Karim often followed his 
mother when she went in, holding a 
lighted wax dip. There were no old 
trunks with newspapers and letters, be¬ 
cause no one of the family had even seen 


22 Our Little Persian Cousin 

a newspaper and no one but Dada had 
ever learned to read. Instead, there were 
big wooden shovels, plows, sickles and 
a pickax. In the autumn grapes hung in 
long clusters from the ceiling. 

The baskets and jars were carefully cov¬ 
ered, but Nana used to open them for 
Karim if he cried hard enough, and let 
him feel and taste what was in them. 
Most of the baskets were full of raisins. 
Two held red peppers. Some jars held 
salted cheese, and some were filled with 
butter, which felt very cool and soft. The 
pickled cucumbers tasted good, and best 
of all was the molasses. 

One day Nana had just taken the heavy 
cover off from the molasses jar, when she 
found that she had forgotten a dish. She 
went out to get it, and Karim was left 
alone. He pulled the molasses ladle out 
of the jar and tried to get its bowl to 


Karim Goes Exploring 23 

his lips, all dripping as it was. It was 
half as long as he, and somehow hit him 
fairly in the eyes, filling them with 
molasses instead of his mouth. He 
screamed and ran through the door, 
dropping the ladle as he went. 

Nana ran quickly to Karim. “ My 
darling,” she cried, “ light of my eyes! 
Did the molasses hurt my darling? We 
shall beat the jug. See!” and she took 
the broom and started for the store room. 

Just then Almas appeared in the door. 

“Why did you not watch Karim?” 
Nana cried angrily. “We shall whip 
you, too! See” — she added to Karim — 
“ shall we whip this naughty girl be¬ 
cause she let the molasses hurt you?” 

“No,” said Karim, picking up a stick, 
“ it was the jug. We shall whip it.” 

“Wonderful!” exclaimed Nana, “how 
kind he is to his sister.” 


24 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Karim felt very much grown up as 
he thrashed the jug, while Nana laughed 
proudly because he showed so much 
spirit, and Almas looked on with smiles 
because it was the jug that was being 
whipped, and not herself. The jug was 
the only one that did not care. 


CHAPTER IV 

THE EVIL EYE STRIKES KARIM 

Karim at this time happened to have 
only the shirt that he was wearing. He 
had never had more than two at one 
time, and one had dropped to pieces from 
age the week before. Nana had not 
found time as yet to finish a new one. 
The shirt was a dirty brown, although if 
one could have examined the seams he 
would have found that it had once been 
a dark red with black stripes. Now, with 
the molasses streaks, it looked fairly 
black. 

Nana decided that it must be washed 

at once, for Dada might not like to see 
25 


26 Our Little Persian Cousin 

his son looking so very dirty, so she 
took him with her to the pool when she 
went for water that morning. She washed 
the shirt thoroughly, while he stood be¬ 
side her shivering in the cool breeze. 
When at last it looked somewhat cleaner 
she wrung the water from it as well as 
she could, and put it back upon him to 
dry. Karim fairly howled with cold as 
he trotted along by her side, and when 
they reached home, to comfort him, she 
gave him two cucumbers and some of the 
raisins that he liked so well. 

That afternoon he began to cough 
severely, and his head was very hot. 
Nana pulled at her hair in her anxi¬ 
ety. 

“ The Evil Eye has struck him!” she 
exclaimed. “ The charm fell off from 
his neck when I washed his shirt, and 
I did not notice it for some time. The 


The Evil Eye Strikes Karim 27 

Evil Eye must have struck him then. 
Why did I not keep him dressed in 
Fatima’s clothes, so that the Evil Eye 
would think him a girl, and not notice 
him? or rub his face with ashes, so that 
he would look ugly? Awy! What can 
I do?” 

“ Get up,” said Grandmother, “ run to 
the mullah, and have him write another 
charm; perhaps it will frighten the Evil 
Eye away.” 

Nana did so. 

Said the mullah, as he gave her the roll 
of paper, “ If there are twenty evil spirits 
in your son, they will all run away when 
you tie this prayer around his neck. It is 
worth fifty cents.” 

Nana began to cry. “What can I do, 
O holy man?” she said, “I have only 
twenty-seven cents, and my son will 
die.” 


28 Our Little Persian Cousin 

“Take comfort, my daughter,” replied 
the mullah, “ I am God’s servant, and He 
is merciful. The twenty-seven cents are 
enough.” 

But that night Karim nearly choked 
in his coughing. Dada looked very anx¬ 
ious. “ Women are donkeys,” he said, 
“ and so are mullahs. I will go for the 
barber.” 

The barber looked grave. “ See the 
black blood. I will take it out, and he 
will get well.” He cut a vein with his 
razor, and caught the blood in a bowl, 
but Karim became worse. The next morn¬ 
ing Dada hurried to the best doctor in 
the village. He looked at the boy a 
long time. 

“ Bring me this afternoon,” he said, 
“ fifty cents, and that hen with a white 
tail ” — he pointed to the largest of the 
old biddies — “and with its blood and a 


The Evil Eye Strikes Karim 29 

mouse’s eye I will make a medicine which 
will cure him. If it does not, take back 
your money.” 

When he had gone Bajee and some 
other women came to see Nana. 

“ My uncle once was sick like this,” 
said Bajee, “ and an old woman told 
grandmother to take a rooster and cut it 
in two, and tie the warm, bleeding pieces 
upon his breast. That made him well.” 

“ My brother,” said an old woman, 
“ was cured of a cough by lying in the 
oven for the whole of one morning.” 

So Karim spent the afternoon lying 
upon the warm ashes in the hole where 
the cooking was done, with the bleeding 
body of the old rooster pressed tightly 
against his chest, while the charms were 
still about his neck and the doctor’s medi¬ 
cine at hand. That evening he was much 
better. 


30 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Nana insisted that he was cured because 
of the mullah’s charm; Grandmother be¬ 
lieved in the dead rooster, while Dada 
went to thank the doctor and give him a 
lamb for a present. 

It was some days before Karim was 
himself again, and as he was fretful 
his grandmother amused him with sto¬ 
ries. 

Here is one of them. The others were 
very similar to this. 

THE FOX AND THE WOLF 

A fox started to travel to the city of 
Mashad, because he knew that he was a 
wicked fox, and such a good man was 
buried in that city that simply visiting his 
grave was enough to make one good. On 
the way he met a wolf, who asked him 
where he was going. 


The Evil Eye Strikes Karim 31 

He replied, “ I am a wicked fox and 
am going to Mashad to be made good .’ 1 

The wolf said, “ I am very bad, too, 
and ought to go there. Let me go with 
you.” 

They went on together, and after a 
while met a bear. 

“ Where are you going? ” he asked, 
and when they had told him he wished 
to go with them. 

As they made their journey they came 
to a country where there was nothing to 
eat. They all became very hungry; so 
hungry that the fox and the bear dropped 
behind, as the three were walking, and, 
suddenly jumping upon the wolf when he 
did not expect it, caught him with their 
teeth in the neck and killed him. Then 
they each took a part of the body and 
began to eat. The bear ate until nothing 
but bones was left, but the fox took some 


32 Our Little Persian Cousin 

of his meat while the bear was not look¬ 
ing and hid it in a dark corner of a cave 
near by. 

After a while they both began to feel 
hungry again, for the wolf had been so 
lean that there was not much of a meal 
to be made off of him. The fox went 
into the corner of the cave where he had 
hidden the meat, and soon the bear heard 
him smacking his lips very loudly. 

He was very much surprised, and asked, 
“ What can you have found to eat? ” 

“ O bear,” said the fox, “ I was so 
hungry that I have pulled out my left 
eye, and am eating it, and you cannot 
think how good it tastes.” 

“That is quite an idea!” said the bear, 
and he pulled out his own left eye, and 
ate it. 

But he was soon very hungry again. 
Then he heard the fox in the corner 


The Evil Eye Strikes Karim 33 

once more smacking his lips very loudly, 
and he exclaimed, “ What on earth can 
you be eating now?” 

“ O bear,” said the fox, “ I was so 
hungry that I pulled out my other eye 
and am eating it.” 

“ How smart the fox is to think of 
such things!” thought the bear, and he 
pulled out his own right eye and ate it. 

Then the fox got a long pole, and 
taking hold of one end he told the bear 
that if he would take hold of the other 
end he would lead him (since he was 
blind) to a place where he would find 
plenty to eat. But he led him to the 
edge of a very high rock. 

“ O bear,” he said, “ there is a large, 
fat sheep right in front of you. Now 
jump! ” 

The bear jumped, and fell so hard 
upon the stones below that it killed him. 


34 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Then the fox ate the body of the bear, 
and it made him strong enough to go on 
and reach Mashad, where he visited the 
grave of the holy man and so was made 
good. 


CHAPTER V 


KARIM AT WORK AND PLAY 

The village where Karim lived lay at 
the mouth of a little valley. Down this 
valley ran a stream of sparkling water 
that came out of the ground about a quarter 
of a mile above the village. This was 
not a spring, but a “ kareez,” for beyond 
it could be seen a long line of pits, joined 
at the bottom by an underground channel, 
through which the water ran. The road 
lay by their side, and in two places the 
path divided, a part passing on each side 
of a pit. 

Once while Karim lay flat on the 
ground looking over the smooth sides at 
the water trickling across the bottom of 
35 


36 Our Little Persian Cousin 

the pit, he asked, “ Doesn’t any one ever 
fall in?” 

“ Why should he?” replied Dada. 
“ Can’t you see the hole plainly enough? ” 

“ But suppose it was dark? ” 

“ At night honest men are in bed, 
and robbers know the roads. But if 
God wills that a man shall fall in, why, 
he will fall in, and cannot help himself. 
It is Fate.” 

The stream ran down the valley past 
an orchard of apricot and cherry trees. 
By its side were willow trees, with short, 
thick trunks, and a row of poplars, that 
seemed to Karim the tallest trees he could 
think of. Then it ran into the village 
pond. Twice a week all the water was 
let out of this pond, to be used in water¬ 
ing the fields, but it soon filled up again. 

When Karim was seven years old Dada 
began to send him here with his cousin, 



t( 



HERE KARIM SAT ALL DAY 











Karim at Work and Play 37 

Ali, to wash the two big black Indian 
buffalos which he and Mashaddi used for 
plowing. It was hard to say who enjoyed 
it the most, the buffalos, who dearly loved 
the water, or the boys, who rode upon 
their broad backs, and splashed and swam 
about during the warm summer evenings 
as long as they pleased. 

Dada soon gave Karim other work as 
well. He took him to the field and lifted 
him up upon the yoke between the buf¬ 
falos. Here Karim sat all day, to keep 
the yoke by his weight from pressing 
against the throats of the buffalos as they 
slowly drew the plow back and forth 
across the field. 

Next Dada sent him to watch the cows 
as they grazed in the open meadow in 
the lowland, or among the dried grasses 
on the hillside. Here he spent whole 
days with the other boys, going swim- 


38 Our Little Persian Cousin 

ming and playing “ marbles.” For 
marbles they used the bones from the 
joints of sheep’s legs. 

The next year, in early summer, Dada 
told him to keep the birds away from 
the cherries and apricots in the little or¬ 
chard, by shouting and clapping two. 
boards together. At first this was great 
fun, but he became very tired of it in 
a few days, and his voice grew hoarse 
and rough. Then came harvest time, 
and he went out to the hot field and 
carried water to the reapers, and rode 
upon the straw cutter or swept up the 
grain upon the smooth threshing floor 
until he was so tired that he could hardly 
stand. 

About this time he fell sick again. His 
head ached and he was hot with fever. 
The doctor wrote a prayer with the blood 
of a lamb, and Nana burned the paper 


Karim at Work and Play 39 

and poured the ashes into a cup of water 
which she made Karim drink, but it did 
no good. He lay on the floor on a thin 
mattress dressed in his every-day, dirty 
clothes, and the flies kept settling on his 
eyes and mouth. 

Nana and Grandmother were as kind 
as they knew how to be. They took great 
pains to get the tongue of a starling, for 
a woman said that this would cure him, 
but, instead, he became worse. At last 
he broke out with the smallpox. 

“ All have the smallpox,” said Grand¬ 
mother, when she saw this; “what can 
we do?” 

Some of the neighbours brought their 
young children to see him. “ They must 
all have this sickness,” was their reason, 
“ and it is best that they have it now, when 
they are young.” In this way Fatima 
caught the disease, and died. 


40 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Hers was a dreary little funeral. The 
house was filled with the noise of the 
sobs and wailing of her mother, who 
was nearly frantic with grief, and with 
the cries of a few of her friends. No one 
thought of flowers, and there was no 
music. As the funeral was that of a 
girl, only three men walked behind the 
body when Mashaddi carried it to the 
grave. Of course no women went with 
him, for that was not the custom. 

Soon after Karim got over the small¬ 
pox he began to go to school for a part 
of the year. He was proud of this, be¬ 
cause a great many of the boys were too 
poor to go to school. As for the girls, 
of course people never sent them. What 
would be the use? “Teach a girl! You 
might as well try to teach a cat,” they 
thought. 

The teacher was the mullah. On the 


Karim at Work and Play 41 

first day of school he and his eight pupils 
came to Karim’s home to welcome him. 
All were dressed better than usual. Ka¬ 
rim looked very gay in a brand new coat 
of bright blue. Dada met the teacher 
with a present of three chickens. Then 
the boys marched to the school in a strag¬ 
gling line, the teacher at the head, the 
older boys chanting in a loud voice a song 
they had been taught, and the three young¬ 
est carrying the chickens dangling by the 
legs. 

The school house was the mosque, or 
Muhammadan church. The room was 
large and bare. Straw mats covered the 
floor. There were no blackboards or 
maps or desks; indeed, most of the boys 
had never even seen a lead pencil. The 
mullah sat upon his heels on a rug by the 
window with a long stick in his hand. 
The boys sat upon the mats, facing him. 


42 Our Little Persian Cousin 

“You must come to school before 
breakfast,” said the mullah. “ If any one 
eats any food before coming to his les¬ 
sons I shall pull out his ears.” 

If a boy was at all tardy he exclaimed, 
“You silly animal, hah! Have you been 
eating, and so are late? ” 

“ Oh no, indeed I did not eat anything! ” 
“ Put out your tongue! ” 

Once Karim’s breath smelled of onions, 
and the mullah gave him so sharp a tap 
that he felt it for an hour. 

They studied a little arithmetic, but 
spent most of the time learning to write 
the Persian language, and to read from 
the Koran. As the Koran was printed in 
the Arabic language, which none of the 
boys knew, at first they did not understand 
what it meant, although the mullah ex¬ 
plained a great many things to them. It 
was very important to learn to recite a 


Karim at Work and Play 43 

good many chapters from this holy book, 
even if one could not understand what he 
recited. No one could pray to God in a 
way that was pleasing, the mullah said, 
unless he repeated in his prayer parts of 
these chapters, which the holy prophet 
Muhammad long ago had brought down 
from heaven. 

Studying the Persian language was 
more interesting work. In a short time 
Karim was given stories to read which 
told of the wonderful deeds of King Sol¬ 
omon, who talked with the birds and made 
the spirits of the air obey him. He also 
read other interesting stories, very much 
like those to be found in the “ Arabian 
Nights’ Tales.” 

While they were studying the boys all 
swayed their bodies forwards and back 
and read from their books in a loud sing¬ 
song tone. If a boy became tired he did 


44 Our Little Persian Cousin 

not dare to stop. Karim did so once, but 
a stroke from the mullah’s stick and his 
question, a Son of a dog, why are you not 
studying? ” made him yell out with the 
loudest. 

He soon learned not to ask questions. 
Once when there had been a slight earth¬ 
quake shock he asked what it was that 
had made the earth shake. 

“ The ox,” said the mullah, “ which 
holds up the earth upon his twenty-one 
horns has become angry, and is shaking 
his horns.” 

“ What is he angry at? ” asked Karim. 

“ God knows, and He has not told us,” 
said the mullah. 

“ I wonder what the ox stands upon,” 
added Karim, after a minute. 

“ If it were right for us to know God 
would have told us,” was the answer. 
“ Such questions are irreverent, and fools 


Karim at Work and Play 45 

ask them. Pray to God to forgive you, 
and then begin your study again.” 

When Karim was eleven years old Al¬ 
mas was married. The friends of the 
bridegroom came to the house, and were 
given a good dinner. Almas was so 
bundled up that no one could recognize 
her. Then they put her on a horse, and 
in a noisy procession led her off to her 
new home. She now lived in a village 
ten miles away, and Karim saw her only 
two or three times a year. He missed his 
sister for a long time, because she had al¬ 
ways waited upon him so carefully. 

As the wedding occurred a little before 
the great festival of “ Norooz,” that 
helped him forget his loss. “ Norooz,” 
or the festival for the new year, came in 
the early spring, when everyone was glad 
that winter had gone. Mashaddi said 
that the world came to life then. A few 


46 Our Little Persian Cousin 

days before the festival Karim’s head was 
shaved, and the nails of his fingers and 
toes were coloured red. He was given a 
new suit of clothes exactly like Dada’s in 
cut, and when dressed in them looked like 
a little old man. “ But then,” said Nana, 
“ he is almost grown up now, and ought 
to look so.” 

She arranged plates full of nuts, raisins, 
dried apricots, quinces, figs, dates and 
candy (there must be seven kinds of food, 
and their names must each begin with an 
S) and Karim took these as presents to 
the mullah and to a few other friends. 
Dada bought some sugar, tea, tobacco and 
candy, and all was ready. 

The festival lasted for a week. On the 
first day Dada and Karim (now that he 
was old enough) sat upon their heels in 
the room to receive callers. Each caller, 
as he entered, bowed low and said, “ Peace 


Karim at Work and Play 47 

be to you! May the festival be a happy 
one.” 

“ May you be fortunate,” replied Dada. 

“ How is your health?” asked the 
caller. 

“ Praise be to God, we are well.” 

Then, sitting down, they talked to¬ 
gether, and took turns smoking from the 
water-pipe. After the third cup of tea 
had been served the caller rose and said 
good-bye. 

The greatest fun was on Tuesday eve¬ 
ning, when the roofs of the village were 
alight with blazing pin wheels, Roman 
candles, small volcanoes and rockets. 

Children’s Day was also a lively time. 
Several of the young men of the village 
dressed up as clowns. They had some 
musicians with cymbals with them, and 
went about saying and doing absurd 
things. Karim and his school mates 


48 Our Little Persian Cousin 

dressed themselves up like robbers, with 
beards made of cotton, and canes for 
spears, and went to the mullah’s house. 

“ Give us some money, or we will rob 
you!” they shouted. 

He laughed, and gave them enough to 
buy a plenty of candy. 


CHAPTER VI 


A TRIP TO THE CITY 

One evening Dada said, “ Shahbaz has 
just come from the city, and says that 
they are paying twenty-five shahis a bat¬ 
man for wheat. If God is willing, I and 
Karim will get Hussain’s donkeys, and 
take in our wheat to sell to-morrow.” 

Early next morning each donkey was 
loaded with two of the black sacks of 
wheat, excepting one donkey, which was 
saddled and carried two empty jars, for 
Dada intended to buy some molasses in the 
city. To the saddle was fastened a jug of 
water and a red handkerchief filled with 
bread and cheese. None of the animals 
had on a bridle. Dada and Karim started 


49 


50 Our Little Persian Cousin 

very early, going as fast as one could 
walk, and taking turns at riding the sad¬ 
dled donkey. 

The road lay over a dry and sandy 
plain six miles wide, which it took nearly 
three hours to cross. The sun rose when 
they were half way over, and soon there 
was only the deep blue sky and blazing 
sun above, and the hot, parched ground, 
with bare, rugged mountains in the dis¬ 
tance. The only green place in sight was 
that made by the trees around their own 
village, now looking like a dark band 
against the yellow hills. 

Karim looked back later, and was as¬ 
tonished to see what appeared like a large 
lake, bordered by many trees, instead of 
the village and the plain. He called to 
Dada, who hardly looked around, but 
said, “ The evil spirits do this to deceive 
you.” 



it 


99 


\ 


THE SUN ROSE WHEN THEY WERE HALF WAY OVER 















5i 


A Trip to the City 

Then, for an hour more, they climbed 
a slope up the mountain-side. It was 
tiresome work, and Dada had to grunt 
“uh! uh!” at the donkeys harder than 
ever, and prod them with the nail pointed 
stick. A few stunted bushes were grow¬ 
ing among the bare rocks and thirsty gul¬ 
lies. One small tree was passed, half cov¬ 
ered by tattered bits of cloth tied to its 
branches. 

Dada carefully tore off a faded strip 
from his ragged coat, and fastened it to 
a twig. “ There is no water,” he said, 
“ and yet this tree is always green. It 
is a spirit who does this. Let us give him 
an offering of respect.” Karim felt afraid, 
and did the same. 

At last they went down a steep slope into 
a valley. Here was a spring of cold 
water. Around it were willow trees, and 
near by melon and cucumber patches, and 


52 Our Little Persian Cousin 

an orchard of mulberries and apricots. 
They unloaded the donkeys and for a 
shahi bought a melon from the man who 
was in charge. They then untied the 
handkerchief and sat down on the ground 
to eat. After the meal they stretched 
themselves at full length under the trees, 
and were lulled to sleep by the deep 
“ boom, boom ” of the bells that swung 
from the necks of some camels who had 
just passed with their heavy loads. 

In an hour Dada waked Karim and 
they started again. Soon the road grew 
wider. All of the streams were now 
spanned by bridges, while on every side 
were vineyards and orchards. They met 
many people, and many droves of donkeys, 
and at last entered a long avenue bordered 
by willow trees. At its end was the gate 
of the city. 

In front of the gate the road crossed a 


A Trip to the City 53 

ditch forty feet wide and in some places 
half full of water covered with a thick 
green scum, where the frogs were singing 
cheerily. Behind this was a wall, half in 
ruins, with broken down towers here and 
there. Inside the city gate the street was 
about fifteen feet wide, and one could not 
see anything on either side except high 
walls of dried earth, with here and there 
a gate or a narrow alley. There was a 
narrow sidewalk, but people did not seem 
to care much whether they used it or 
walked in the middle of the street. 

In a few minutes they had passed more 
donkeys than there were in the whole of 
their village. Some carried baskets of 
grapes, some looked like moving piles of 
yellow straw, and a few were loaded with 
dripping lumps of ice carried in black 
bags. Some were dragging poles whose 
ends were for ever getting under one’s 


54 Our Little Persian Cousin 

feet. Ohe had a dead sheep strapped to 
its back. These were small, mouse col¬ 
oured, half starved donkeys, like the one 
on which Karim had been riding, without 
any ambition or pride, but jogging along 
because their drivers would prod them if 
they stopped. They passed a few larger 
donkeys as well, with handsome saddles, 
ridden by well dressed men in long brown 
robes and white turbans, who were mul¬ 
lahs, or by women who were so bundled 
up that one could not see even their 
eyes. 

In a corner was a group of beggars sit¬ 
ting in the dirt, dressed in rags. Some 
of them were holding up the stumps of 
their arms, or pointing to their blinded 
eyes. 

“Give me money for food!” was their 
cry. “May God bless your sons! For 
the Prophet’s sake, give me a shahi!” 


A Trip to the City 55 

It was a pitiful sight, yet very few paid 
any attention to them. 

At a turn of the crooked street Karim 
and Dada came upon three shops. The 
goods of one were spread upon a platform 
next to the sidewalk, and the shopkeeper 
sat upon his heels behind within reach of 
everything. Dead sheep were hung up 
by their legs before another shop, and a 
dead ox was lying upon the sidewalk upon 
its own hide, spread flat on the ground. 
At the third a blacksmith was shoeing 
a horse, and everyone had to dodge by 
with an eye upon the horse’s heels. 

Fifteen or twenty people were gathered 
around a man with long, uncombed hair 
and fierce, wild eyes who carried a small 
ax in his hand, and was waving it about 
and talking loudly in a singsong tone, 
while a boy was going around with a 
carved cocoanut shell, asking for shahis. 


56 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Dada said that he was a “ darvish ” or 
holy man who was telling stories about 
the saints. 

Suddenly two horsemen appeared, 
shouting, “ Khabardar! Khabardar! ” 

The blacksmith dropped the shoe and 
gave the horse a blow that sent him 
against the wall, and the holy man with 
his audience spread in a row along the 
side of the street. Dada in a great hurry 
crowded the donkeys down one of the 
alleys. They were none too soon, for al¬ 
most at once a large crowd of blue coated 
horsemen armed with guns turned the 
corner. Their horses pranced and snorted, 
while the men cursed some of the people 
because they could not squeeze themselves 
flatter against the wall. One of them 
struck a man, who did not even say a 
word in return. 

And now there came something more 


57 


A Trip to the City 

wonderful than even Karim’s grandfather 
had “seen in a dream,” as he told Nana 
later. It was drawn by two spirited 
horses, which no one was riding, but a 
man held them back by long straps, and 
they went wherever he guided them. The 
thing itself was a great box of polished 
black colour, with a door, and with soft 
cushioned seats inside, upon which were 
sitting two splendidly dressed men. This 
box was carried on wheels that seemed 
much too light to support it, and which 
made no noise at all as they went around. 
The only wheels Karim had ever seen 
before had no spokes, and were each al¬ 
most as heavy as a man, and creaked so 
that they could be heard a quarter of a 
mile away. He was so astonished that 
he did not notice that every one bowed 
low until he felt a sharp blow from be¬ 
hind, and a “Bow low, you fool!” 


58 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Then he bobbed so quickly that his hat 
rolled off into the road. No one moved 
to get it, and in silent misery he watched 
one of the horses crush it. It was a new 
hat, and Dada bought him only one new 
hat each year. 

When the horsemen had all passed he 
picked the hat up. There was a hole in 
the soft crown, and it was stained with 
mud. As he was wiping it off Dada came 
up, so angry that he struck him with his 
stick. Some boys who saw this laughed 
at him. Dada did not comfort him at all, 
but exclaimed, “I have a fool for a son! 
Why do you stand gaping like a donkey 
at the wagon of the governor? If that 
man had not made you bow to the gov¬ 
ernor, and to the prince riding with him, 
some of the horsemen might have noticed 
it. Then we both would have been seized, 
and probably beaten. All my wheat 


A Trip to the City 59 

would have been taken from me, and per¬ 
haps I would have had to pay some money 
to keep from being put into prison.” 


CHAPTER VII 


KARIM’S RELIGION 

Sometimes Karim went to the mosque 
with Dada in the early morning on Friday. 

The mullah had told him, “ The 
prophet Muhammad has advised that 
every one should bathe on Friday and 
then come on foot to the mosque to 
prayers, and be reverent during the 
service. God will give a great reward to 
the person who does this.” 

The mosque was a plain building, with 
one large room and a porch in front. 
The room was bare, except for a few 
mats and a small pulpit. When any one 
entered he took off his shoes as a mark 
of respect, but kept on his hat. 

60 


Karim’s Religion 61 

During the service those present re¬ 
peated aloud with the mullah prayers and 
chapters from the Koran. Then the mul¬ 
lah preached a short sermon. 

The mullah got up early every morning 
in the week and went upon the roof of 
the mosque. Here, as the day was break¬ 
ing, in a very loud and musical voice he 
chanted the “ Call to Prayer.” This was 
in the Arabic language, so that Karim for 
a long time did not know what it meant, 
although he had heard it so often that 
he could repeat most of it by heart. 

But at school he learned that it meant, 
“ God is most great! God is most great! 
I declare that there is no God but God, 
and that Muhammad is the messenger of 
God. Come to prayer! Come to the 
refuge! God is most great! Prayer is 
better than sleep. God is most great!” 

In school Karim had also been taught 


62 Our Little Persian Cousin 

the Creed, “ I testify that there is no God 
but God. I testify that Muhammad is 
the prophet of God, and that Ali is the 
ruler appointed by God.” 

Although he had been taught these 
things, the mullah said that he was still a 
boy, and that boys were not expected to do 
all that God commanded. But when 
Karim was thirteen years old the mullah 
said, “ You have reached the age when the 
Recording Angel begins to write down in 
his book whatever you do, whether it is 
good or bad, so you must begin carefully to 
perform good deeds, that they may help 
to save you from the evil deeds you will 
do, and thus permit you to enter heaven. 
I have taught you the prayers that you 
ought to say each day, and the way in 
which you must wash yourself before 
saying them.” 

Karim felt quite proud to be thought 


Karim’s Religion 63 

so old, and began to copy Abdullah, who 
was more careful about his prayers than 
many of his neighbours. Abdullah bought 
for his son a little rug and a bit of dried 
clay that came from the holy city Mecca, 
where the prophet Muhammad had lived. 
Each morning, at the time of the Call, 
Karim repeated his prayers, standing, and 
kneeling just as Dada did, and touching 
his forehead to the bit of clay when he 
bowed. 

Somewhat later came the month of 
Ramadan. During this month it was 
against the law for him to eat or drink 
anything, or even to smoke a pipe, from 
dawn until late in the evening. Of course 
it was very hard to obey this rule, but it 
was thought wicked to disobey it. What 
made it harder was that Karim had to 
work during the morning. In the after¬ 
noon he slept some, and longed for the 


64 Our Little Persian Cousin 

sun to set. As soon as he heard the crack 
of the gun that announced the time when 
it was right to take food he hurried into 
the house. Here was a good meal, all 
steaming hot, prepared by Nana. How 
they all did eat! 

Dada always sent some of the food to 
Bajee, the poor widowed woman who 
lived down the street. Whenever a beg¬ 
gar appeared, he fed him, too. 

“ We must give alms,” he said, “ if we 
wish to enter heaven, for our holy prophet 
has so commanded.” 

At the close of the month came the 
great Week of Mourning, or Muharrem. 
When Karim was still a little boy Nana 
had taken him with her to the mosque 
each day during this week. They had 
sat outside in the street and listened to the 
mullah as he told the sacred story of the 
death of the holy Husain. 


Karims Religion 65 

He explained how the rightful ruler 
had been Ali, after the death of the 
prophet Muhammad, long ago, because 
Ali was the prophet’s son-in-law, having 
married his daughter Fatima. But 
wicked men had made Umar the ruler 
instead of Ali, and even yet the people 
of Turkey, and the Turkmans, and many 
who lived in India and Africa believed 
that Umar was a holy man. When Ali 
died his sons Hassan and Husain should 
have become rulers. Hassan soon died; 
the men of the city Kufa then promised to 
honour Husain if he should come to them. 
Husain believed them, and came from the 
city Mecca with his family, guarded only 
by a few warriors. But when he came near 
Kufa no one came to help him. Instead, 
the wicked governors of that city actually 
dared to come out with a great many sol¬ 
diers and attack him, although he was the 


66 Our Little Persian Cousin 

grandson of the prophet Muhammad. 
The men with Husain were too few to con¬ 
quer, yet he did not surrender, because he 
was the grandson of the prophet and the 
rightful ruler, and none of his warriors ran 
away, but together they died fighting 
bravely against their wicked enemies. 

As the mullah told in his sermons how 
Husain was killed, first some women be¬ 
gan to moan, and later all burst into loud 
sobs, while the tears streamed down their 
faces. The most devout caught these 
tears in little long necked bottles, to keep 
them for medicine. 

“ God is pleased with us because we 
weep for Husain,” Nana explained, “ and 
because of our tears for Husain He gives 
us all the good things that come to us dur¬ 
ing the year. And the mullah says that 
if we weep for our lord Husain the mar¬ 
tyr God will take away all our sins.” 


Karim’s Religion 67 

“ In the cities,” added Dada, “ they 
have processions in memory of our lord 
Husain.” 

“ I saw the processions in the city last 
year,” broke in Mashaddi. “ They were 
wonderful. First came men bearing the 
two black banners of the mosque. Then 
followed others playing funeral music on 
drums and fifes. After them walked the 
mullahs and holy men. Then came a 
long line of men and boys, marching two 
by two. They were beating their breasts 
in time with the music, and chanting a 
dirge that was so strangely stirring and 
yet so full of tears that I can never forget 
it. Indeed, I found myself running out 
to join the marchers, while my eyes were 
blinded with weeping. There were two 
little girls and a woman on horseback, 
with straw on their heads and collars of 
wood on their necks. They represented, 


68 Our Little Persian Cousin 

you know, the wife and children of Hu¬ 
sain, who were captured by his enemies 
when he had been killed. Boys walked 
alongside, throwing straw into the air. 
The woman’s collar represented iron fet¬ 
ters, and the straw was a sign of grief. 

“ In some of the other processions there 
were men beating their breasts with chains, 
and crying out as they marched, ‘ Awy! 
Hassan! Awy! Husain!’ After them 
came some men with white cloths spread 
over their shoulders. They carried swords 
in their hands, and as they marched they 
cut their faces so that the blood ran 
down.” 

“Why did they cut themselves?” asked 
Karim. 

“ Because it is a very holy thing to do,” 
replied Dada, “ almost as holy as to visit 
the grave of our lord Husain at the city 
Kerbella.” 


Karims Religion 69 

“ I saw a boy on horseback,” continued 
Mashaddi, “ with a dagger in his hand, 
and his face was bloody from the cuts he 
was giving himself. How they can do it 
I cannot see. God gives them the power 
to forget their pain. Sometimes friends 
walk alongside with sticks in their hands 
to dull the blows, and so keep them from 
injuring themselves too much. But they 
say that if a man dies from his cuts God 
takes him straight to heaven.” 


CHAPTER VIII 

KARIM’S GOOD FORTUNE 

One evening Dada asked Karim, 
“ How would you like to travel, as Ma- 
shaddi did, who was once a soldier of the 
Shah, and was blessed by a visit to the 
sacred shrine of the holy Imam Reza 
when the Shah sent his regiment to 
Mashad to frighten the Turkmans. 
Wouldn’t you like to be called ‘ Ma- 
shaddi,’ too?” 

“ It would be splendid,” replied Ka¬ 
rim. “ Only yesterday Mashaddi was 
telling me about this shrine. The room 
inside is just covered with gold and silver 
and bright stones, and splendid rugs. The 

70 


Karims Good Fortune 71 

blessings the Imam gives to those who 
visit it cannot be counted. 

“ But the mullah says that the tomb of 
the Imam’s sister, Fatima, in the city Kum 
is almost as holy, and it is much nearer. 
The dome of its roof is covered with 
flashing gold, and inside is a silver gate, 
with tiles of such beautiful colours that 
he can’t describe them. And Mashaddi 
has seen the palace of the Shah at Te¬ 
heran, too. He says that he saw a throne 
covered over with carved gold, and every¬ 
where in this gold are set flashing emer¬ 
alds and rubies and other precious stones. 
Mashaddi called it the ‘ Peacock Throne/ 
and said that the great Nadir Shah 
brought it from India when he went to 
that country with an army to fight the 
Great Mogul! 

“ But I cannot travel, — the Shah isn’t 
asking for soldiers now.” 


72 Our Little Persian Cousin 

“ That is so,” said Dada. “ But the 
mullah has taught you how to behave be¬ 
fore khans (noblemen). Our agha (mas¬ 
ter) is coming here in a few weeks, and I 
am going to take you to call upon him.” 

“ Our agha is a kind master,” broke in 
Nana. “ It happened the last time he 
came that he passed Abbas’ field when he 
was tying up the sheaves. Of course Ab¬ 
bas hurried to put a sheaf in the road 
before him as a present. The agha threw 
two silver coins into the sheaf for Abbas! 
That is a good deal better than the cop¬ 
per shahis one usually gets.” 

“ He is a just man,” added Dada. “ He 
doesn’t eat up all that the poor have, like 
the master of Hissar. The people there 
can never pay all that man wants, espe¬ 
cially since the poor harvest seven years 
ago. That man had his servants put some 
wheat in each house. Of course the peo- 


Karims Good Fortune 73 

pie cooked and ate it — poor things, they 
were hungry. Then he told them that 
because they had eaten up his wheat they 
owed him money for it. The interest they 
pay each year is one fifth of what they 
owe. But he cannot get it from most of 
them, although his ferashes (officers) have 
thrashed the men so that they went limp¬ 
ing about for two weeks. Our agha takes 
only what is due, one tenth of the crop, 
and his servants don’t take very much, 
either. Ahmad was the only man he had 
bastinadoed last year, and Ahmad was try¬ 
ing to cheat him. He said that he had no 
money, when really he did have some 
buried in a bowl in a corner of his 
house.” 

“ They say that our agha may even 
become the governor,” added Shahbaz, 
who had just come in. “ I heard in the 
city last week that the Shah had given 


74 Our Little Persian Cousin 

him the title * The Good Fortune of the 
State.’ ” 

“ May God so will! ” said Dada. “ He 
will be as good a governor as Rashid 
Khan, the ‘ Glory of the King’s Court.’ 
When he was governor a woman could 
walk safely from here to the city with a 
purse full of gold in her hand. I remem¬ 
ber that once I saw the heads of two 
thieves stuck on the tops of poles before 
his house. He cut off the hands of a lot 
of rascals, too. But it isn’t so now. Only 
last week some Kurds stole five cows from 
the herd of Hissar. The foolish boys had 
taken the animals up into the hills, where 
no men were near.” 

“ Karim has learned to read our lan¬ 
guage, and to behave properly,” said 
Grandmother. “ Perhaps he will find 
grace in the eyes of the agha, so that he 
may want him as a servant.” 


Karims Good Fortune 75 

“ O Dada, do you think that could 
be?” cried Karim. 

“ I shall beg this of the agha,” said 
Dada, “ and the mullah has promised 
to help me. If God will, we shall find 
favour, and all our faces will be made 
white with joy.” 

On the next day a horseman arrived, 
to announce that the agha himself would 
come within a week. When the horseman 
reached the door of Abdullah’s house, 
Abdullah met him with low bows, and 
said, “ This is no longer my house, but 
yours. I am your servant.” 

The rider got off his horse and went 
into the house. Here Nana had ready as 
tasty a supper as she could cook. 

The next day the “ white beards” (old 
men who manage village affairs) came 
to call. They brought two large trays 
piled high with apples, grapes and pears, 


76 Our Little Persian Cousin 

with a coat of blue broadcloth, and one 
toman in money. Now for three days 
everyone was busy. The agha’s house was 
swept, carpets were put down, and plenty 
of food made ready for cooking. Most 
important of all, the money tax was col¬ 
lected. This must be paid to the agha 
because he was the master of the village. 
Abdullah was the “ kedkhoda ” or village 
head. 

Sometimes the taxes made him and the 
white beards very anxious, for all the 
money must be collected. But this year 
the harvest had been a good one, and 
only three men told Abdullah that they 
could not pay what was expected. The 
white beards were much displeased. 

They said, “ You will make our faces 
black before our agha. We shall have 
to tell him, ‘ These three men only did 


Karims Good Fortune 77 

not pay.’ What he will do God knows. 
Our agha has many ferashes.” 

The three men cried, and their wives 
screamed and tore their hair. They of¬ 
fered to pay one half, or three quarters, 
but the white beards only replied, 

“ We must leave it to the agha.” 

Finally, on the day before the agha 
arrived, the last shahi due was paid to 
Abdullah. 

The master looked very much pleased 
the next afternoon, when Abdullah and 
the white beards, with many bows, of¬ 
fered him the taxes in full, with a present 
of ten tomans and three large baskets of 
grapes besides. 

“You have made my face white,” he 
said. “And you, kedkhoda; in all of 
my villages I have no one better than 
you. You have made my eyes to shine; 


78 Our Little Persian Cousin 

speak, then, that I may make your face 
white. What wish have you?” 

“O agha!” replied Abdullah, “what 
we have done is nothing, it is dirt, and 
we are as the dirt under your feet. And 
yet, since you have stooped to notice me, 
and have filled my mouth with sugar by 
your words, I have indeed a request, that 
I shall make, since you so command. 

“ I have a son. He is a worthless boy, 
indeed, and yet he has studied long with 
our mullah, and has read the holy Koran, 
and the books of the poets. If he could 
live with you, if only to sweep the straw 
for your horse’s stall, why, then, indeed 
you would lift my head to the clouds and 
fill my mouth with laughing.” 

“Is he with you?” asked the agha. 
“ Let him enter.” 

The man at the door called Karim, 
who was waiting outside, dressed in a 


Karims Good Fortune 79 

new blue broadcloth coat. As he entered 
he bowed low, and then stood at the end 
of the room, politely covering his hands 
in his coat-sleeves. 

“What is your name?” asked the agha. 

“ Thanks to God, your servant’s name 
is Karim.” 

“Which of our poets have you read?” 

“ A few of the pearls of wisdom of 
Sheikh Sa’adi have lodged in my skull, 
thanks to the thumpings of our mullah.” 

“ Indeed,” added Abdullah, proudly, 
“ he is not stupid. If it please you, he 
can recite well.” 

“ It is well,” said the agha. “ Let me 
hear you, my lad.” 

So Karim recited a poem, in a sing¬ 
song voice, as he had been trained by the 
mullah. 

As he closed the agha rubbed his hands 
with pleasure. “This is wonderful! 


80 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Who would have expected such knowl¬ 
edge in a village peasant? You say that 
the mullah taught you. He shall have 
a reward for such faithful service. And 
you,” he added, turning to Abdullah, 
“ your request is granted. Nasr’ullah, 
my groom, will find a place for your son 
with him.” 




THE GOVERNOR S PALACE. 





























CHAPTER IX 


KARIM LEAVES HOME 

WHEN the agha went back to the city 
to become its governor Karim bade 
good-bye to his parents and went with 
him. He was one of the stable boys for 
Nasr’ullah the groom. 

He now lived on the grounds of the 
governor’s palace. One entered these 
grounds through large gates of wood. 
The gateway was faced with bright red 
brick arranged in pretty patterns. 

Then came a large court yard, paved 
with stone, and surrounded with rooms for 
Nasr’ullah and those who helped him. 
In one of these Karim slept. A large 
doorway near by led to a long line of 

81 


82 Our Little Persian Cousin 

stalls, where twenty riding horses were 
kept, with their saddles, saddle cloths and 
bridles hanging ready for use at a half 
hour’s notice. 

From this court yard a small gate way 
opened into another and larger yard. 
Here were broad walks paved with flat 
stones and bordered with little plots of 
green grass, rose bushes and small beds 
of bright yellow and red flowers. A few 
mulberry trees gave a pleasant shade. 
There were two great stone rimmed tanks 
full of water. 

i 

Around this court yard were many 
rooms. The reception room was large, 
with white walls and windows of stained 
glass. Its floor was covered with richly 
coloured carpets. The tea room had soft 
divans along the walls, with wide win¬ 
dows to catch the breeze. There were 
also rooms for the governor’s son, Ar- 


Karim Leaves Home 83 

dashir Khan, and for the mirza (secre¬ 
tary) who taught him, and for the serv¬ 
ants. Beyond were the kitchens, where 
the men in charge always kept tea and 
food ready, because no one could tell 
just when a visitor might come with his 
attendants. 

In all about fifty men had work to 
do about the palace. All of them were 
given their meals, and many slept there. 

Behind the great court yard was an¬ 
other yard, almost as large, into which 
Karim never entered, as it was reserved 
for the ladies of the governor’s family, 
and for the women and girls who served 
them. 

The court yard was shaded by tall 
chenars (a kind of sycamore), and had 
in it streams of water, plots of grass, rose 
bushes, flower beds, and a grape arbour. 

In the branches of the chenars, thirty 


84 Our Little Persian Cousin 

feet above the ground, were two nests of 
the “ Hajji Legleg,” or stork. This bird 
was called “ hajji,” or “ pilgrim,” be¬ 
cause storks fly away each fall and always 
return to their nests in the spring. They 
were never disturbed, because they were 
said to bring good luck. They reminded 
Karim of his own village, where two 
pairs of storks had made their nests for 
years. He had heard of one village 
where there were twenty or thirty nests, 
on the trees, walls, and even on the roofs 
of the houses. 

He had often watched the parent 
storks, one at a time, brooding over the 
blue eggs or feeding their young. Father 
Stork used to feed the mother while she 
was sitting, dropping from his bill into 
hers such tidbits as live frogs or snakes 
captured from the little swamps near the 
river, and around the ponds. As soon as 


Karim Leaves Home 85 

the three or four young storks had hatched 
the father and mother took turns in their 
work. One stayed at home and guarded 
the children, while the other hunted for 
food. When the hunter came in sight of 
the nest he made a great noise clapping 
with his bill, for storks have no call, and 
his mate answered him. The young storks 
made a low sound something like a kit¬ 
ten’s mews as they sat with their long bills 
wide open, waiting for breakfast to drop 
in; they spent much time, too, leaping 
up and down in their nests like Jacks-in- 
the-box, exercising their wings. 


CHAPTER X 


KARIM GOES TO MARKET 

Karim’s first work was to help take 
care of the horses. It was not always 
easy, for they were splendid animals, high 
spirited and vicious, and ready to break 
away, if possible, in order to get into a 
fierce fight with each other. After Karim 
learned to ride, he asked Nasr’ullah if he 
could not be one of the attendants of 
Ardashir Khan, the agha’s son, on his 
horseback rides. 

“ I can let you have a horse,” said 
Nasr’ullah, “but I have no good saddle 
to spare. The khan is very particular.” 

“May I go if I get a new saddle?” 

asked Karim, eagerly. 

86 


Karim Goes to Market 87 

“ If God will, I am willing,” said 
Nasr’ullah. 

So Karim got his money and started 
to the shops or “ bazaars.” He went down 
the narrow street and past the graveyard, 
with its rude slabs of untrimmed stone, 
and on to the bazaars. Here the street was 
roofed over by a row of little domes, with 
round openings above for light and air. 
It was crowded with people. There were 
women wrapped in shapeless masses of 
blue cloth, with faces carefully covered; 
long robed “ sayids ” with green turbans 
on to show that they were descendants of 
the prophet Muhammad; peasants passed 
in old and ragged coats; city men in 
blue broadcloth and tall black hats, and 
Kurds from the mountains, wearing 
bright coloured coats, baggy trousers, 
and wide red belts, in which were thrust 
big- daggers. 


88 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Here, in a corner, sat a man roasting 
“ kabobs,” bits of meat which he deftly 
wrapped in flaps of bread and sold. The 
purchasers took them in their fingers and 
ate them at once. Here were shops where 
a dozen men were making a great noise 
hammering out brass vases, bowls and 
tea urns. Just beyond were the shops of 
the saddle makers. There Karim saw 
just the saddle he wanted. He stepped 
to the edge of the shop and looked at it. 
The shop keeper looked up from the 
strap he was cutting. 

“ Peace be to you,” said Karim. 

“ Peace be to you,” replied the shop 
keeper, eyeing Karim’s good coat and 
new hat. “ With God’s blessing have you 
come. I can see by your looks that you 
are a good rider and know good saddles. 
Let me show you this one. It is fit for 
King Solomon himself.” 


Karim Goes to Market 89 

“ I am looking for a saddle,” replied 
Karim, feeling pleased, “ and it must be 
a good one, suited to an attendant of 
Ardashir Khan, the son of the governor. 
But I am not as rich as King Solomon, 
and cannot buy saddles fitted for him.” 

“ Indeed, may I be your sacrifice!” 
cried the shop keeper. “ This saddle is a 
very poor gift, but take it, for you are 
a servant of our good governor, whom I 
hope God will bless. It is a present. My 
eyes for it, just command me, and it’s 
yours.” 

“ O no,” said Karim, “ of course I 
could not rob you so. I shall buy it, and 
pay you good money. What’s your 
price? ” 

“No!” insisted the shop keeper, “take 
it. It is yours, with God’s blessing.” 

“ I cannot,” said Karim. “ I will buy 
it. What is your price?” 


90 Our Little Persian Cousin 

The shop keeper looked disappointed. 
“ If you won’t take the saddle as a 
present,” he said, “ you must name your 
own price. I can sell nothing to the 
servant of our governor, whom I hope 
God will bless. Name a price, my soul; 
anything, and it is yours.” 

“ Since you say I must name a price,” 
said Karim, feeling rather at sea, “ I will 
give one toman.” 

“What!” screamed the shop keeper, 
“ only one toman for a saddle fit for the 
hero Rustem! What pack horse’s saddle 
would cost so little? Ten tomans could 
not buy it.” 

“Fit for Rustem, indeed!” said 
Karim, scornfully. “ My master’s mule 
driver would be ashamed to ride on it. 
See how the leather is worn, here, and 
here, and here. One toman is too 
much, but my master is generous, and so 


Karim Goes to Market 91 

I must be. Take eleven krans, and thank 
God.” 

“ This is the way you servants of the 
khans laugh at my beard, and grind the 
faces of us who are poor. The leather 
alone of this . saddle cost more than 
eleven krans. If I sold it for seven 
tomans, I would be giving it away.” 

“Your beard indeed saves you,” said 
Karim, “ for it is long, and I must treat 
you with respect. For the sake of your 
beard I’ll offer fifteen krans.” 

“ It is plain you are a country bumpkin, 
and do not know what saddles are worth,” 
said the shop keeper. “ Ask any one of 
these merchants here, and he will tell you 
that if I sell the saddle for six tomans I 
shall lose money. But our governor, your 
master, is a good man. For his sake take 
it for five and a half.” 

In reply Karim offered two tomans. 


92 Our Little Persian Cousin 

The shop keeper came down to five. 

They kept on disputing in this way 
until at last Karim bought the saddle for 
three tomans. He carried it home on 
his shoulder, and began to brag to the 
other servants about his bargain. 

But the groom laughed at him. 

“ The shop keeper was right,” he said, 
“ you are a bumpkin. Why did you tell 
him you were a servant of the governor? 
They sell saddles like this in the bazaars 
every day for two tomans.” 


CHAPTER XI 


KARIM AT THE PALACE 

Nasr’ullah was true to his promise, 
for he saw that Karim was large for his 
age, and had already learned how to 
manage horses. 

Ardashir Khan, the agha’s son, was very 
fond of riding, and was often in the 
saddle. Sometimes there was simply a 
ride across country to the hills, made gay 
by feats of horsemanship. The young 
khan and his friends, with their servants, 
rode madly at full speed in small circles, 
or pretended to get into a fight and fired 
their guns when at full run. At other 
times there was a party to hunt quail or 
partridge with the aid of falcons and dogs. 

But one of the pleasantes excursions 

93 


94 Our Little Persian Cousin 

was to a garden-house, surrounded by 
tall trees and grassy lawns. Here the 
young khans, in a cool porch beside a 
pool of clear water, drank the tea pre¬ 
pared by their servants, and smoked the 
pipe, while they enjoyed each other’s jokes 
and stories. 

One story of which no one seemed to 
tire, if it was well told, was about the 
disappointments of the lovers Leila and 
Majnoun. 

THE STORY OF LEILA AND MAJNOUN 

Leila was the beautiful daughter of a 
chieftain who camped with his followers 
in tents, and wandered over the country, 
going wherever he could find water and 
grass for his flocks of sheep. Once he 
stopped near a village where dwelt a 
noble young man, Majnoun. Leila lived 
a freer life than the women and girls who 


Karim at the Palace 95 

were in the villages, and was allowed to 
wander over the hillsides with uncovered 
face; in this way she happened to meet 
Majnoun. They fell deeply in love with 
each other, and often met among the 
lonely hillside rocks. Leila’s father did 
not know of this, or he would have been 
displeased, for Majnoun was not a chief¬ 
tain, like himself. 

One day Majnoun was astounded to 
find the place empty where the chief’s 
tent had been. It seemed hopeless to 
find him, for no one knew in which 
direction he had gone, but Majnoun did 
not give up. He left his father’s house 
and wandered through all the neighbour¬ 
ing region, searching for the encampment. 
Although his search was in vain, he loved 
Leila so that he could not give up, but 
wandered in all directions searching 
eagerly for her. 


96 Our Little Persian Cousin 

The weeks lengthened to months, and 
the months to years, but still he could not 
find her. 

Meantime Leila was as much distressed 
as was Majnoun. But it was impossible 
for her to search, for she was a woman, 
and must remain at home. All she could 
do was to weep in secret and sing songs or 
compose little verses that told of her grief. 

After a time the chief of another tribe, 
who had heard of Leila’s beauty, came 
with many horsemen and splendid pres¬ 
ents to ask her father if he might marry 
her. Her father was much pleased, but 
poor Leila was heart broken. When her 
father heard that she was unwilling to 
be married he became angry. 

“ My daughter is of age,” he said, 
“ and her suitor is wealthy and of high 
rank. What more can she want? She 
must be married to the chief.” 


Karim at the Palace 97 

So the wedding was celebrated with a 
great deal of expense, and every one was 
very happy except the bride. 

There was now no hope for Leila, but 
she could not forget her lover. Long years 
passed, and she heard nothing of Majnoun. 
Yet she did not forget him. She used to 
wander alone over the mountain side near 
her husband’s tents, singing of her disap¬ 
pointment. 

One day she heard her song answered 
by a well remembered voice, singing, like 
her, of a long lost love. And so at last they 
had found each other. But it was a very 
sad meeting. Leila was too honourable 
to disgrace her husband and herself by 
running off with Majnoun, and he was 
too noble to wish her to do so. They 
could only express their grief in song, 
and then bid farewell to each other for 


ever, 


98 Our Little Persian Cousin 

After Karim had become well ac¬ 
quainted with the governor’s servants he 
persuaded Musa, who had charge of such 
matters, to allow him to be one of the 
men who waited upon the agha when he 
had callers. Karim stood at the door with 
hands covered until it was time to bring 
in the tea or “ kalian,” or water pipe, 
in which the smoke was drawn first 
through water and then through a long 
tube to cool it. Karim brought it in and 
silently placed it before a guest, who 
took a few whiffs, and then passed it to 
the man next him. This man did the 
same, and in this way the pipe was passed 
along the whole line of guests, sitting 
against the walls on either side of the gov¬ 
ernor. 

The tea was served in little tumblers. It 
was made with plenty of sugar, and was so 
hot that the guest made a noise when 


Karim at the Palace 99 

drinking it, drawing in air to keep from 
scalding his mouth. 

The governor usually treated his guests 
very politely, although he did not rise 
as they entered, because he was of higher 
rank than they. 

When he wished to show very great 
honour to a caller he beckoned to him 
to come and sit by his side. He kissed 
him on both cheeks, and asked him 
quickly, “ Is your health good? Is your 
appetite good? Are you healthy, and fat? 
Your coming is delightful. Your arrival 
is most pleasant. You have come on my 
eyes.” 

But he was not always so gracious. 
Once a very rich khan called, bringing 
a letter which he wished to present. It 
happened that he was very near-sighted, 
and usually wore glasses. But to wear 
glasses when calling on the governor 


ioo Our Little Persian Cousin 

would have been impolite, so he took 
them off before entering. It was an 
amusing sight to see his eyes rolling as 
he walked up the carpet trying to pick 
out the governor from among the callers 
who were seated by him. To have given 
the letter to the wrong man would have 
been a great insult. Luckily, he made 
no mistake, and, bowing low, handed the 
governor the letter. The governor 
opened and read it, then tore it up and 
threw it out of the window, and began 
to converse again with the other callers. 
Meantime the khan stood patiently wait¬ 
ing, for to speak without being first 
spoken to was impolite, and to leave with¬ 
out permission an insult. 

At last he said to the governor, “ With 
your permission, may I be excused?” 

“ You were excused before you came,” 
replied the governor. 


Karim at the Palace 


IOI 


So the khan managed to get away, 
backing all the way to the door (to turn 
around would be improper), and bowing 
again and again. 


CHAPTER XII 


SOHRAB AND RUSTEM 

The governor’s mirza (or secretary) 
was very friendly with Karim, and al¬ 
lowed him to read his books. He had 
a fine copy of the “ Shah Nameh” or 
“ Book of Kings,” by the great poet Fir- 
dousi. It was very large, and full of stir¬ 
ring poetry describing the wonderful 
deeds of kings and heroes who lived long 
ago. The greatest of them was Rustem. At 
eight years of age he was as strong as any 
hero of that time. This is one of the famous 
stories that Karim most enjoyed. 

THE STORY OF SOHRAB AND RUSTEM 
Rustem once went on a hunting trip 
that led him to the boundaries of Persia. 


102 


Sohrab and Rustem 103 

Becoming tired after a long day’s chase, 
he lay down to sleep, leaving his splendid 
horse Rakush to graze near by. Some 
Tartar robbers, creeping up, led away 
the horse. Rustem, when he awoke, fol¬ 
lowed the hoofprints until he arrived at 
the kingdom of Samengan. Its king came 
to meet the hero, and promised to give 
back his horse if he became his guest. 
While here Rustem met the king’s 
daughter, the princess Tamineh. They 
fell in love and were married with great 
splendour. 

It was not possible for Rustem to live 
long with his bride, because he was 
needed by his lord, the king of Persia. 
He was compelled to leave Tamineh be¬ 
fore he could even see the baby that was 
born. But he sent them a splendid pres¬ 
ent. 

The baby was a boy, and Tamineh 


104 Our Little Persian Cousin 

said to herself, “ If Rustem hears that 
his child is a boy he will send for him, 
and leave me desolate.” So she told the 
messenger who brought the present that 
the child was a girl. Tamineh named 
her son Sohrab. As he grew up he be¬ 
came very strong and brave. When he 
was ten years old she told him that his 
father was Rustem, but added, “ If you 
let this be known Rustem’s enemies will 
try to kill you, for he is hated by many 
warriors here, because he has beaten them 
in battle.” 

When Sohrab was fourteen years old 
he was as strong as the greatest warrior. 
He now declared that he intended to con¬ 
quer Kaoos, the king of Persia, and to 
make Rustem king in his stead. King 
Afraysiab, who was a great enemy of the 
Persians, heard of this plan. He thought 
to himself, “ Sohrab is the only hero 


Sohrab and Rustem 105 

strong enough to meet Rustem. If I 
can keep him from recognizing Rustem 
perhaps he will kill him as a foe.” So 
he sent word to Sohrab that he would 
join with him in the war. But secretly 
he told his generals, Human and Bahman, 
that they should not permit Sohrab to 
recognize Rustem, and that if they could 
they should bring the two together in 
battle. 

When the armies met, these generals 
arranged with King Kaoos that two 
champions, one for each side, should meet 
in single combat. The king selected his 
greatest hero, Rustem, as the champion 
for the Persians. Sohrab, of course, was 
chosen by Afraysiab’s generals to fight 
against him. 

Sohrab suspected that his foe was Rus¬ 
tem, and when they met begged him to 
tell his name, but Rustem refused. Twice 


106 Our Little Persian Cousin 

they fought, and twice Sohrab conquered. 
But he was moved by a strange love for 
his foe, and, though victor, spared his 
life. 

And now the third and last day of the 
struggle arrived. 

As Sohrab was putting on his armour 
he looked at the Persian hero, and said 
to Human, “ See how strong and brave 
my foe appears! just such a man as my 
mother said that Rustem is. He surely 
is Rustem.” 

“ Not at all,” replied Human, “ I know 
Rustem’s appearance well. That horse, 
it is true, looks like Rakush, but is less 
strong and beautiful.” 

The champions now approached each 
other. 

Sohrab, again in doubt, spoke, “ Let 
us sit here as friends, for my heart is 
drawn to you. Be as generous as I am, 


Sohrab and Rustem 107 

and tell me who you are! Say, are you 
Rustem, whom I long to know?” 

“Away with your excuses!” cried Rus¬ 
tem. “ We meet to fight. I claim the 
struggle.” 

“ Old man,” said Sohrab, “ you refuse 
to listen to me. Then take care for your¬ 
self!” 

Each now tied his horse, tightened his 
belt, and rubbed his arms and wrists in 
angry excitement, for the struggle was to 
be by wrestling. And now the heroes 
meet and clasp; in the terrible strain 
they seem like raging elephants. The 
ground grows black with the blood and 
sweat that drops from their straining 
bodies. Sohrab threw himself forward 
with a sudden spring and seized his 
enemy around the belt. Rustem, feeling 
his strength give way, fell heavily to the 
ground. Sohrab leaned over to kill him, 


108 Our Little Persian Cousin 

but Rustem cried out, “Hold! Do you 
not know the law? It gives the beaten 
man a second chance.” 

This was a crafty lie. Sohrab believed 
it. He left his foe, and went proudly 
back to the cheering ranks of his friends. 
Careless he waited, and made no prepara¬ 
tion for the next fight. But Rustem went 
to a stream, and bathed his limbs, and 
prayed for the strength that once had 
been his. 

The two then met again. Sohrab 
scornfully exclaimed, “You dare to meet 
me, do you? Are you looking for a death 
with honour, because you have been 
beaten so often? But you care not, old 
man, for the truth, and perhaps you 
have another trick to try. Twice already 
have I spared you just because you are 
old.” 

“You are young and haughty,” replied 


Sohrab and Rustem 109 

Rustem, “ but perhaps my aged arm will 
yet subdue your pride.” 

Then they rushed to the fight, tug¬ 
ging and bending, and twisting their great 
limbs, until Rustem with a mighty effort 
grasped Sohrab. Bending his back, he 
hurled him to the ground. But he knew 
that he was not strong enough to keep 
him there, so he quickly drew his dagger 
and stabbed him. 

Sohrab writhed in pain as he said, “ Do 
not now boast in your pride; I have 
brought this upon myself. Fate ordered 
that you should kill me. O, if only I 
could have seen my father! My mother 
told me how to recognize him, and I 
sought for him. My only wish is to see 
him, and here I die alone! But do not 
hope to escape him! Wherever you flee, 
Rustem in sorrow and anger will pursue 
you.” 


iio Our Little Persian Cousin 

Rustem shook with horror at these 
words. His brain reeled; at last with 
a groan he cried, “Prove you are mine! 
For I am Rustem!” 

Sohrab stared wildly at him, and said, 
“ If you are Rustem, you have indeed a 
cruel heart, else you would have known 
me long ago. Take from my arm its 
coat of mail, and see there the golden 
bracelet you left with my mother.” 

Rustem tore off the mail; at the sight 
of the gleaming bracelet he fell to the 
ground, crying, “ By my own hand my 
son, my son is killed!” 

Lying in the dust, with groans, in his 
despair he tore his hair and clothing. 

Meantime the sun had set, and Rakush, 
forgotten by his master, started for the 
camp and entered the ranks of the wait¬ 
ing Persians. They saw the empty saddle, 
and in fear galloped to the battle ground. 


Sohrab and Rustem 


111 


The dying Sohrab heard the tramp of 
their horses, and said, “ Let peace come 
from my death. Beseech King Kaoos to 
spare the Tartar army, for they are not 
to blame. I am to blame. I sought to 
find you. And how often did I look for 
my father Rustem, and how sure I felt 
that you were he. But you denied it, 
and yet I could not kill you. Now Fate 
has disappointed all my hopes, and 
stained your hands with my life blood.” 

The soldiers approached, and horror 
came upon them as they saw the agony 
of Rustem. 

“ Here ends the war,” he said to them; 
then, looking at his dying son, he groaned, 
“ Oh what a curse has come upon a parent’s 
head!” 

In his despair he drew his weapon, to 
kill himself, but the Persian captains 
seized his arm. 


112 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Then, arousing, he exclaimed to the 
chief Gudurz, “ Hasten! hasten to King 
Kaoos, and beg of him the medicine he 
has that yet will save my son! Remind 
him of my deeds for him, and entreat 
that he send it for my sake.” Gudurz gal¬ 
loped to the king, but the cruel king re¬ 
plied, “ Can I forgive that shameless boy, 
who scorned me with my army, and 
sought my throne? Only a fool would 
save the life of such a foe.” 

Gudurz returned with this bitter mes¬ 
sage. Rustem then left his dying son, 
and hastened himself to the king. But 
while he was yet on the way a messenger 
brought word that Sohrab was dead. 


CHAPTER XIII 

NEW OPPORTUNITIES 

OFTEN the governor had dinner parties 
for his friends. These were always a 
delight to Karim, who helped to make the 
room ready. First the servants spread 
upon the richly woven carpet a coloured 
cloth that covered the entire centre of the 
long room. Along the edges of this cloth 
a man next spread the large flaps of thin 
whole wheat bread. Then the centre was 
filled with all kinds of good things to 
eat. There were large plates heaped high 
with pilav, well buttered and mixed with 
bits of orange and spices, and topped 
with pieces of well cooked chicken. 

XI 3 


114 Our Little Persian Cousin 

Near by in other dishes were bits of mut¬ 
ton in spiced gravies. The yellow curry, 
in saucers, was placed near the rice, all 
ready to be mixed with it. Other dishes 
held cold rice, cooked in milk and sugar 
until it was almost solid. Often there 
were large dishes of cucumbers, tomatoes, 
or apples, with their centres cut out and 
filled with spiced meats and thoroughly 
cooked. There were side dishes of sweet 
preserves, and of red peppers. 

The guests left their shoes at the door, 
and sat down on the floor next to the 
table cloth. Each rested on his heels, 
flattening out the instep. He was careful 
not to move his legs at all during the 
meal, no matter how tired they became, 
because that would suggest that he was 
not enjoying the entertainment. Each 
guest was also careful to sit further from 
the governor than other guests of higher 


New Opportunities 115 

rank. If he did not, the guest whose 
place he had taken would probably have 
disgraced him by making him get up and 
change his seat. 

When the eating began every one was 
busy. Each tore off little pieces of bread, 
and with their help took the meat or rice 
from the dishes. There were no separate 
plates, or knives or forks. Once in a 
while the governor with his own hand 
poked a piece of food into the mouth of 
the guest who sat next to him. This was 
a great compliment. The servants went 
softly about in stocking feet, seeing that 
the dishes were kept full. 

When all had eaten enough, the table 
cloth was cleared, and sherbet, or sweet¬ 
ened water, was brought in, with plates 
of candy and small sweet cakes. Karim 
carried around a pitcher of water, while 
another servant went with him, carrying 


n6 Our Little Persian Cousin 

a basin and towel. Each guest washed 
his hands. By this time many in the 
room were laughing and chatting. Some¬ 
times the conversation was kept up for 
several hours, until tea and the kalian 
had been passed around. 

Meantime the servants, in another 
room, were having a splendid feast with 
the food left by the guests. So much 
was cooked that there was always plenty 
to spare. When they finished eating, the 
dishes were passed out to the hostlers; 
lastly, the hostlers passed on the scraps to 
the beggars waiting at the gate, so that 
nothing was lost. 

One day* when Karim was sitting alone 
in the mirza’s room, a stranger entered. 

“ Peace be to you,” said Karim. 

“ May you have peace. Is not the 
mirza in? ” 

“ He has been called by the agha — 


New Opportunities 117 

whose life God will lengthen! — and is 
very busy.” 

“ Has he no time, then, to write a letter 
for me? Do you know of any one who 
can compose a good letter?” 

“ Indeed,” replied Karim, who wanted 
to show what he knew, “ the mirza, when 
I help him, says that my writing is second 
only to his. If my letter does not please 
you, come again when the mirza is not 
busy. What is your need? ” 

“Yesterday,” said the man, “a mer¬ 
chant sent me some splendid pomegran¬ 
ates. He has made my face to shine, and 
I wish to thank him. I wish also to beg 
him to send me some more.” 

Karim opened the pen case, and took 
out a reed pen, which he sharpened and 
smoothed. Then he took a roll of paper, 
trimmed it with the scissors, and rubbed 
its edges with saffron. Putting the paper 


ii8 Our Little Persian Cousin 

on his knee as he sat on the floor he began 
to write, pushing the pen across the paper 
from right to left. 

When he was through he read the 
letter to the man. 

“ That is just the kind of letter I 
want,” he said. 

“ Very well,” said Karim, “ I shall seal 
it. Where is your seal?” 

He took the man’s seal, engraved on 
a bit of agate, and after wetting it with 
the thick ink, pressed it on the paper. 
Then he folded the letter and handed it 
to the man, who thanked him many 
times, and offered him ten shahis in pay¬ 
ment. 

When Karim told the mirza what he 
had written the latter said, “You have 
learned quickly from me how to compose 
well. Let me keep on teaching you, and 
you will become almost as skilful as I.” 



PUTTING THE PAPER ON HIS KNEE AS HE SAT ON THE 

FLOOR.” 

























































New Opportunities 119 

This is a translation of the letter that 
Karim composed: 

“ My kind, honourable and respected 
master, whose honour I hope may last: 

“ Just when my weak mind was plan¬ 
ning to ask you about the state of your 
health, which is so important to us, the 
noble, famous and wise Sayid Ibrahim 
(I hope that his life may be lengthened!) 
unexpectedly gave me your kind letter. 
When I opened the letter it seemed to 
me that I was uncorking a bottle of rose¬ 
water. When its perfume of love reached 
the nose of my soul, because it brought 
me the news of your good health, I was 
as full of joy as I could be. And by 
showing me your favour, that is, by send¬ 
ing me the pomegranates, you have made 
me very glad. I hope that you will al¬ 
ways gladden my heart with this kind 


120 Our Little Persian Cousin 

of favour, each year sending me the 
happy news of your own good health. 
My longing eye is all the time looking 
up the street. 

“ I wish this letter to carry some sign 
of my love, so I am sending you with it 
a pair of gloves. Wear them, please, for 
the sake of remembering me. 


Rashid.” 


CHAPTER XIV 


TWO IMPORTANT EVENTS 

Karim used to go back several times 
a year to spend a week or two with Ab¬ 
dullah and Nana. They were always 
delighted to see him and to hear of his 
new life, and much pleased with the 
presents he brought. 

On one of these visits Nana asked him 
whether he did not wish to become be¬ 
trothed. Karim at once felt very bash¬ 
ful, but at last told his mother whom he 
was thinking of, and she promised to 
speak to Abdullah about it. She did so 
that very afternoon. 

“ Master,’’ she said, “ you know that 
your son is now fifteen years old, and 

ought to be betrothed. He told me this 
121 


122 Our Little Persian Cousin 

morning that he wishes us to ask Shahbaz 
if he will not let him marry his daughter 
Kadija.” 

“K’choo!” sneezed Dada, and then 
blinked at the sun, for good luck. Both 
waited quietly for a minute, and then 
Nana exclaimed, 

“Awy! What bad luck! God has 
shown us that we should not ask for 
Kadija.” 

“ There are other girls,” said Dada, 
and after a long talk that evening with 
Karim they decided to ask Suleiman for 
his daughter. 

Next morning Dada started out to ask 
Mashaddi to tell his mother to see Sulei¬ 
man about this. On the way he greeted 
Husain. 

“ Peace be to you.” 

“ May you have peace,” replied Husain. 
u Where are you going? ” 


Two Important Events 123 

“What luck!” muttered Dada, and 
went back home again. 

“Why have you come back so soon?” 
asked Grandmother in surprise. 

“ That fool Husain asked me a ques¬ 
tion that brings bad luck,” said Dada, 
“ so of course I came back to start out 
over again. A person cannot be too care¬ 
ful at a time like this.” 

“ We seem to be having bad luck about 
it all,” replied Grandmother. “ I had 
hoped that Kadija was the right girl, but 
of course, since you sneezed only once, 
she — ” 

“K’chee! K’choo!” broke in Nana. 

“ Praise be to God!” exclaimed Grand¬ 
mother. “ We were talking of Kadija, 
and Nana sneezed twice. You know that 
means the best of luck. Let us ask for 
her.” 

Shahbaz was much pleased when Ma- 


124 O ur Little Persian Cousin 

shaddi’s mother told him what Abdullah 
was hoping for. When Abdullah learned 
this he sent rice and meat and butter to 
Shahbaz’ house, and later came himself 
with Mashaddi and a few other friends, 
carrying as presents, among other things, 
a ring and a pair of shoes, and a large 
tray covered with candy, with a red 
handkerchief spread over the top. 

“ Peace be to you, my brothers,” said 
Shahbaz. 

“ May you have peace,” replied Ab¬ 
dullah. “ I have come to ask whether 
you are willing to marry the light of your 
eyes, your daughter Kadija, to my son 
Karim.” 

“ You show me so much more honour 
than I can possibly deserve in asking 
this,” said Shahbaz, politely, “ that I am 
too much overcome to trust myself to 


Two Important Events 125 

answer you. I must ask my mother and 
my brother about it.” 

He went in to ask them, and came back 
in fifteen minutes, all smiles. 

“ My daughter is like a pair of shoes 
to your son,” he said. 

“Praise be to God!” exclaimed Ab¬ 
dullah, and sent the ring in to Kadija, 
who of course was keeping out of sight 
of the men. 

Her grandmother put it upon the girl’s 
finger, thus showing that she was now be¬ 
trothed to Karim. Then the men all sat 
down to a dinner cooked from the food 
Abdullah had sent. 

After this Abdullah was careful to send 
a present to Shahbaz once in a while — 
a chicken, or a lamb, or a toman or two. 
It would have been more improper than 
ever for Karim to visit Kadija, now that 


126 Our Little Persian Cousin 

they were betrothed. As she did not know 
how to read he could not send her notes, 
but had to trust that Nana or Grand¬ 
mother would tell Kadija what he wished 
her to know. This was very hard to 
bear whenever he was at home on a 
visit, but there was no help for it. 

One day the mirza said, “ Karim, you 
know about that dog of a Kurd, Sheikh 
Tahar, who captured the governor’s sol¬ 
diers among the mountains, coming on 
them while they were asleep, and who 
robbed the village of Dizza. Now he has 
sent a letter to the governor in which he 
asks that some one be sent to talk with him 
and make peace. The governor is going to 
send Abbas Khan. He wants a mirza to 
go with him. I have taught you to com¬ 
pose and write well. I am old; why 
should I trot about among the mountains 
to please that dog of a Kurd? The work 


Two Important Events 127 

will be an honour to you. Let me recom¬ 
mend you.” 

So it came about that a few days later 
Karim was riding over the plain towards 
the mountain pass with Abbas Khan 
and his forty horsemen. Each man car¬ 
ried a breech-loading gun, with a pis¬ 
tol at the pommel and a dagger in his 
belt. 

The road passed over the flat plain, 
by a river, now running quietly below 
high banks in its wide and stony bed, for 
it was late in the summer. In the spring, 
after the rains, the bed was filled from 
bank to bank with an angry torrent of 
muddy water. Crossing a bridge, with 
arches of red brick, and small towers at 
either end, built by a rich man as a 
good deed, to help him enter heaven 
when he died, they entered the village 
where they were to stop for the night. 


128 Our Little Persian Cousin 

The kedkhoda and village white beards 
met them with many bows. 

Almost every house had one or more 
guests that night. Karim and the major 
who commanded the forty horsemen were 
together in a room that had a rude frame¬ 
work of poles along one side. From its 
top stretched downwards a long line of 
woollen threads of different colours. On 
the little stools in front, the women of 
the house sat while hour after hour for 
days at a time they patiently wove in 
and out the coloured wool thread that 
slowly built up a beautiful Persian car¬ 
pet. None of these women had ever read 
a book telling how to weave, or had ever 
seen a pattern of the bright figures they 
wove into the rug. They had learned 
the patterns by practice under the direc¬ 
tion of their mothers. Their mothers 
had learned them in the same way. And 


Two Important Events 129 

now the girls were sitting before the 
loom and learning by practice to weave 
the same patterns. 

A small boy told them some interesting 
news. 

“ People say,” he said, “ that the king 
of the fleas lives in this village with half 
the fleas of the plain. We don’t mind 
them, but many travellers can’t sleep.” 

Karim laughed at this. He had never 
bothered himself much about such little 
things, but before morning he was quite 
ready to believe the boy. 


CHAPTER XV 


AMONG THE KURDS 

They started early the next morning. 
The road first led through a plain, be¬ 
tween rice fields flooded with water from 
a large ditch. Next it wound past vine¬ 
yards with bunches of white and purple 
grapes, and fields of glistening wheat 
stubble. Then, passing up a long val¬ 
ley, they crossed uplands covered with 
thick rich grass, quite different from the 
bare hills so often seen. In the distance 
grazed large flocks of sheep, guarded by 
Kurdish shepherds, stern, wild-looking 
men, with baggy trousers and jackets of 
many colours, and large peaked felt hats. 

Each had several daggers in his belt. 

130 


\ 



\ 


A KURDISH SHEPHERD 
















































































Among the Kurds 131 

They were followed by dogs as large 
and almost as fierce, as wolves. 

Beyond, on entering a little valley, they 
suddenly came upon the tents of an en¬ 
campment of Kurds. The tents were of 
thick black felt, long and irregular in 
shape, and held up by a great many 
poles. The flaps were partly open for 
the air. There was not much to be seen 
inside; rugs here and there lay on the 
ground, and bedding was rolled in large 
bundles. A few dishes and kettles were 
near the hearth, and here and there hung 
large sheep skins sewed into a rounded 
shape and filled with milk ready to be 
churned. 

On the poles hung guns and daggers, 
and bridles for the horses, with the sad¬ 
dles and saddle-cloths beneath. The 
horses themselves were grazing near by, 
each tethered by his leg with a rope to 


132 Our Little Persian Cousin 

a stake. When the Persians appeared the 
women and children rushed into the 
tents, from which they looked out on the 
party, the dogs barked fiercely, and the 
few men who were lounging around with 
their guns handy scowled darkly when 
they replied to the major’s “ Peace be 
with you.” 

They stopped for the night in a village 
at the foot of a small cliff, on whose crest 
were the ruined walls of a castle. Karim 
walked up to see it. 

The wall, of cobble stone, had once 
been about twelve feet high and went 
around that part of the crest not protected 
by the cliff. Within were the tumbled 
walls of houses, and three large cracked 
cisterns, meant to catch rain water. On 
the farther side was the arched opening 
to an underground passage, whose round 
top here and there had been uncovered 


Among the Kurds 133 

by the rains, so that he traced it stretch¬ 
ing down the brown hillside to a spot be¬ 
low covered with green grass. Near him, 
in the wall, was a gateway, protected by 
a tower of cut stone. Near this tower 
was a strange recess that seemed cut into 
the rock. 

The village boys with Karim said that 
this was a holy place, because the prophet 
Ali had been there. He had been flying 
through the air when going home from a 
visit to a holy shrine, and had stopped to 
rest. As he leaned back against the rock 
he pushed it in and so made the recess. 
He was able to do such a wonderful thing 
because he was a very holy man. 

That evening Karim heard the story of 
the destruction of the castle. Here it is: 

About fifty years before, the castle was 
the home of a Kurdish chief, or sheikh, 
who gave a great deal of trouble to the 


134 Our Little Persian Cousin 

governor in the city. He robbed the vil¬ 
lages and the caravans, and never paid 
taxes or gave any presents to the gov¬ 
ernor. The governor did not have enough 
soldiers to punish the sheikh, so at last 
the ruler of the province came with an 
army and besieged the castle. He placed 
guards on all sides, so that no one could 
go in or come out. He put a cannon on 
a large white stone on the hillside oppo¬ 
site, and fired at the castle. This troubled 
the sheikh very much, but still he did not 
surrender. So the Persians called the 
peasants who lived in the villages near 
by and asked them how the sheikh was 
able to get water to drink. Some peasants 
told about the secret passage down to 
water, but as it was carefully covered no 
one knew just where to find it. So the 
Persian ruler took a mule, and ordered 
that for several days it be given plenty of 


Among the Kurds 135 

food, but no water to drink. In this way 
the mule became very thirsty. Then the 
ruler ordered his men to lead it slowly 
around the castle. When the mule had 
been led almost all the way around it 
suddenly stopped and began pawing the 
ground, because it smelled water. Here 
the Persians dug into the earth, and found 
the secret passage way. 

Then the sheikh in the castle called his 
men together, with their wives and chil¬ 
dren, who were with them. He told them 
that there was no more hope, for they had 
no water, but that they must not fall alive 
into the hands of the cruel Persians. Still, 
he said, he would not ask them to kill 
their own wives and children. He would 
let these surrender if they wished to, but 
not a man must surrender. The women 
cried out that they would rather die than 
be taken prisoners. And so they rushed 


136 Our Little Persian Cousin 

with their children to the cliff and threw 
themselves over it to death — all except 
one, whose clothes broke the fall. The 
men opened the castle gate, and, rushing 
out, fought fiercely until all had been 
killed by their foes. 


CHAPTER XVI 


RUMOURS OF WAR 

The next day for three hours they 
climbed up a rocky valley, and then 
crossed a high ridge, from whose summit 
they saw a plain at the foot of snow 
capped mountains. 

“ Those mountains,” said Abbas Khan, 
“ are Sheikh Tahar’s fort. Whenever we 
beat him in a fight he hides among their 
rocks. What can we do?” Going down 
the steep slopes in zigzags, they crossed 
some low hills, and entered the plain. A 
village lay on its edge, at the foot of some 
hills. The top of one of these hills was 
surrounded by a high adobe wall. The 
people of this village looked very 

wretched; they were wearing clothes that 
137 


138 Our Little Persian Cousin 

were in rags and tatters. The houses 
were without window or door frames, and 
as one peered through the gaping doors 
he saw nothing but the bare floors. No 
cattle or sheep could be seen. This was 
the village that Sheikh Tahar had robbed. 

Next morning the kedkhoda told the 
story to Abbas Khan. Karim, as mirza, 
wrote down what was said. 

“ The Kurds,” said the kedkhoda, “ had 
told some of us that they were going to 
rob us. At first we did not believe it. 
But three days before the great attack 
forty of them suddenly came down upon 
our shepherds, who were pasturing our 
two thousand sheep on the hills. The ten 
shepherds came running for help to the 
village. We hurried out, thirty of us, but 
it was too late. The next day some men 
told us that the Kurds were planning to 
attack us within two days. The white 


Rumours of War 


139 


beards talked it over, and we decided to 
carry everything that we could into the 
walled fort on the hill. We were busy 
doing this all the next day, until the 
ground inside was covered with boxes, 
bundles, plows, yokes, piles of wheat, jars, 
and everything else we had. We drove in 
the few cattle and sheep we had left, with 
our geese and chickens and donkeys. That 
evening our watchmen saw many Kurds 
on a hill near by. The next morning 
there seemed to be hundreds of them. 
They got on that hilltop yonder, which, as 
you see, is higher than the fort, and fired 
at us. We all crowded up beneath the 
wall nearest to them, where they could 
not hit us with their bullets. Then the 
Kurds came up to the wall, yelling like 
devils, and threw stones over its top. 
They came tumbling so thick that we 
could hardly stay next to the wall at all 


140 Our Little Persian Cousin 

— but to move away meant to be shot. 
We had guns, but what use were they? 
If we had killed any of the Kurds they 
would have killed us later. We had no 
water, and what help could come to us? 
So one of our old men crept to the gate 
to try and talk with them; they shot him 
dead. Another climbed a ladder against 
the wall near the place where some men 
from a near by village were throwing 
stones at us — he knew them well — to 
beg them to speak for us to the Kurds; 
he fell over with a bullet in his head. So 
we just opened the gate and let them in. 
They rushed through it like a lot of 
wolves, with yells of joy, and began at 
once to snatch at everything they could. 
They took everything, boxes of clothing, 
the wedding outfits of our brides, the 
head-dresses of our women, with the 
strings of money on them, the cows and 


Rumours of War 141 

sheep and wheat. If they could not un¬ 
lock a box they smashed it open. They 
made us take off our shoes and coats and 
give them up. At last, when there was 
not anything else left, they formed in two 
long lines outside the gate, and made us 
all pass one by one between. If anyone 
saw something one of us had that he 
wanted he snatched it. And so we got 
away, and ran to our houses, weeping, and 
some of us bleeding from wounds. There 
we found everything stripped bare, as you 
see. Now we have nothing left but these 
houses, and they are all empty.” 

All the men of the village in the room 
now burst out crying, and the women out¬ 
side sobbed and wailed and pulled at their 
hair. 

“ Do not weep,” said Abbas Khan. 
“ The governor will command the people 
in the other villages to give you food and 


142 Our Little Persian Cousin 

clothes, and will send you wheat to plant 
in your fields. He will surely punish the 
Kurds, because they have laughed at his 
beard, and he is a lion among men.” 

The next day they rode across the plain 
to a large village. The roofs of the houses 
here were little above the surface of the 
ground. In the house where Karim spent 
the night the animals lived in the same 
room with the men, and so helped to keep 
it warm. He found it hard to sleep. 
Two lambs shut under a large basket 
bleated pitifully for a long time. Next 
some animal startled him from a doze by 
beginning to lick his hand. Very early 
in the morning the rooster in the room 
began to crow, and kept it up at intervals 
until dawn. Worst of all, he could only 
grumble to himself and not wring the 
rooster’s neck, even though he was the 
servant of the governor. He did not dare 


Rumours of War 


143 


to make trouble, because the villagers 
here, unlike those near the city, were not 
much afraid of the governor, and not at 
all afraid of a fight. 


CHAPTER XVII 


SHEIKH TAHAR 

That afternoon ten Kurds rode into 
the village. Their three leaders were 
gaily dressed in baggy red trousers and 
blue and crimson jackets. They wore 
broad crimson sashes, and red silk stream¬ 
ers floated from their turbans. All were 
armed with rifles and several daggers 
apiece, while three carried long lances as 
well. Abbas Khan met them at the door 
of the house where he was staying, and 
the leaders followed him inside, where 
they sat together on the cushions at one 
end, while a row of well armed Persians 
sat around the walls. 

Outside, in the yard, four Kurds stood 
by the horses. The Persian soldiers gath- 

144 


Sheikh Tahar 


145 


ered around them, and as one Kurd could 
speak the Persian language a lively con¬ 
versation soon began. 

“ Our agha is very angry,” said one, 
“ and will never rest until your chief has 
eaten dirt before him.” 

“ Wallah! ” said the Kurd, “ if he wants 
him to eat dirt, let him catch him.” 

“ But your chief knows well that he 
cannot fight with the Persians,” was the 
reply. “ Because he has trapped a few 
sons of dogs when they were asleep does 
he think he can face the cannon and horse¬ 
men our agha will send against him? 
Wah! if he is wise he will eat a mouth¬ 
ful of dirt now, instead of many handfuls 
later. Is he stronger than was Ismail 
Agha?” 

“ We all know of Ismail Agha,” replied 
the Kurd. “ My cousin’s wife’s uncle was 
there when he was killed. Your general 


146 Our Little Persian Cousin 

came with his horsemen to the foot of the 
hill where the Agha’s castle was built. 
He sent up two khans to ask him to come 
down. The khans swore by all that was 
holy that no harm would come to him, 
and said that they themselves would stay 
at the castle gate as hostages if he went. 
He was an honest man and believed them. 
He rode down the hill with only ten 
horsemen with him. After a while the 
Kurds at the castle gate heard the sound 
of guns. The two Persian khans — sons 
of liars — with faces full of joy exclaimed, 
1 Peace has been made. They are shoot¬ 
ing off their guns for joy. Let us ride 
down and join in the celebration.’ We 
Kurds are honest fellows; we did not 
shoot them, but turned to mount our 
horses — and they galloped off and left 
us. The Kurds pursued, but only to meet 
the agha’s ten horsemen coming at break- 


Sheikh Tahar 


H7 

neck speed with the news that Ismail 
Agha was dead. The general had re¬ 
ceived him very politely, but as he turned 
to mount his horse after the talk was over 
a Persian shot him from behind. But 
Sheikh Tahar will not be caught in that 
way.” 

The major now interrupted, saying, 
“ But our agha does not fight in that way. 
He does not use tricks. He has can¬ 
non, and horsemen, and he fights in the 
open.” 

“ I know you have cannon,” said the 
Kurd, “ yet still we do not fear. By tricks 
you win. But they will not succeed 
against Sheikh Tahar. Do you know the 
story of the Kurdish fox and the Persian 
fox? 

“ Once these two foxes met. The Kurd¬ 
ish fox said to the Persian fox, 

“ 1 How many tricks do you know?’ 


148 Our Little Persian Cousin 

“ The Persian fox replied, ‘1 know 
twenty-six. How many do you know? ’ 

“ ‘I know only one/ said the Kurdish 
fox, ‘ but it is all I need.’ 

“ They walked on together until the 
Persian fox saw a piece of meat and 
snapped at it. He found himself caught 
in a trap. 

“‘ My brother!’ he cried in distress, 
‘what can I do? Come and help me!’ 

“‘Why do you want help?’ said 
the Kurdish fox, ‘ use your twenty-six 
tricks.’ 

“ ‘ Really, my brother,’ said the Per¬ 
sian fox, ‘ not a single one of them is of 
any use against this trap.’ 

“‘Well, then,’ said the Kurdish fox, ‘I 
will tell you the one trick that I know. 
To-morrow the owner of the trap will 
come. You must pretend to be dead. I 
shall lie down near at hand, and also pre- 


Sheikh Tahar 


149 


tend to be dead. He’ll take your foot out 
of the trap. You must still pretend to be 
dead. He’ll see me; then he’ll drop you 
and come to get me. Then you jump up 
and run, and I’ll run, too. So we’ll both 
be free.’ 

“ So the one trick of the Kurdish fox 
was better than the twenty-six tricks of the 
Persian fox.” 

The next day Abbas Khan ordered all 
to be ready to ride out to meet Sheikh 
Tahar, who had promised to come down 
for a talk. Everyone was busy, seeing 
that the rifles were ready for use, the pis¬ 
tols loaded, and the saddle girths strong; 
the horses were given a good breakfast; 
in short, everything was put in order, for 
no one knew just what they might have 
to do, — talk, fight, or run away. 

About noon all was ready, and they 
started. The cavalrymen amused them- 


ISO Our Little Persian Cousin 

selves and kept up their courage by gal¬ 
loping in great circles. 

As they approached the mountain, the 
Kurdish horsemen came in sight from be¬ 
hind a hill; they, too, were galloping in 
all directions and brandishing their spears. 
As they drew nearer both sides gathered 
into close groups, and rode on in silence. 

There were about seventy-five men with 
Sheikh Tahar. Most of these were on 
horseback, dressed in baggy red trousers, 
wide red sashes, with scarlet and blue 
jackets, and wide turbans of red silk. 
Each man was a sort of walking arsenal, 
with long lines of cartridges, a Martini 
Henry rifle, and silver hiked daggers or 
swords. But some of the footmen were 
dressed in very ragged clothes and two 
of them carried old flintlock guns. 

When the parties were a few hundred 
feet apart both stopped. After a few 





\ 




SHEIKH TAHAR AND HIS HORSEMEN 








Sheikh Tahar 151 

minutes Abbas Khan with five Persians 
rode forward. On the other side Sheikh 
Tahar with five of the gayest clothed 
Kurds also rode forward. The sheikh 
was a young man, with a heavy moustache 
and piercing, cruel eyes. When they met 
all twelve dismounted. Some Persian 
grooms and Kurdish footmen ran forward 
and led the horses off a little distance. 
One man spread a carpet on the ground. 
On this the two leaders sat down. They 
seemed very glad to see each other, for 
they kissed one another on the cheeks sev¬ 
eral times. After some conversation the 
servants brought tea, which they drank 
together. Karim noticed that two tea 
urns and two sets of tumblers were used, 
and that each leader was careful to have 
his tea made and poured into his own 
glass by his own man. Then they stood 
up, kissed each other again, bowed low, 


152 Our Little Persian Cousin 

and each edged carefully away to his own 
company, while every man in sight kept 
his rifle cocked. 

On the way back Karim asked the 
major what the sheikh had said. 

He replied, “ Sheikh Tahar said that 
he knew how just a man our agha was, 
and how full of mercy, and how brave. 
He loved him so much that when he 
found out from the prisoners he had cap¬ 
tured that they were the agha’s soldiers he 
could not keep the tears from his eyes. 
He had not fought the Persian soldiers 
because he hated them, but because they 
had attacked him. Why did the Per¬ 
sians believe the lies that Sheikh Rakhim 
had told? Sheikh Rakhim was his enemy, 
and had killed ten of his men. He had 
revenged himself by killing fifteen men 
in return. Sheikh Rakhim for this rea¬ 
son had told lies to the Persians and had 


Sheikh Tahar 


153 

persuaded them to send soldiers against 
him. 

“ Then Abbas Khan asked him why he 
had attacked and robbed the village. He 
said that the people of that village had 
killed two of his men the year before. 
Besides, they had helped Sheikh Rakhim’s 
men, who were really the enemies of the 
Persians, although they pretended to be 
their friends. Abbas Khan said that he was 
delighted to hear this from Sheikh Tahar’s 
own lips. He said that our agha had sent 
soldiers against him because the ruler of 
the province had believed the lies told by 
Sheikh Rakhim. But the ruler now had 
learned what a mistake he had made. 
Our agha was anxious to see Sheikh Tahar 
and give him the honour he deserved. 
Would he not come down to the plain, 
near the city, and meet the agha, and be 
honoured by him? 


154 Cur Little Persian Cousin 

“ Sheikh Tahar replied that he did not 
deserve such honour, but if his good 
friend the governor commanded, it was 
his part to obey, and he would be pleased 
to come if he could. But his brothers 
were very angry because the Persians had 
killed some of their men. He was afraid 
that he could not persuade them to let 
him come down. He would come if he 
could, for he loved the agha.” 

“ Do you think he will come?” asked 
Karim. 

“ God knows,” said the major. “ I only 
know that Abbas Khan is a big liar, but 
that Sheikh Tahar is a bigger one.” 


CHAPTER XVIII 


A BATTLE AND WHAT CAME OF IT 

The next day Abbas Khan with his 
company started again for the city, which 
they reached after a quiet journey. The 
mirza read Karim’s reports, and changed 
them where necessary, so that they would 
be in proper form. Then he read them 
to the governor. 

“ The agha was very angry,” he told 
Karim afterwards, “ when I read how the 
village was robbed, and he had me write 
a letter to Sheikh Tahar saying that if 
he did not come to the city within a 
week he would send up an army against 
him.” 

Eight days later all was astir about the 
palace, for the agha had ordered four 
>55 


156 Our Little Persian Cousin 

thousand men with four cannon to the 
mountains. Karim did not go with them. 
However, the major told him afterwards 
about the fight. 

“ When we reached the plain at the 
foot of the mountains,” he said, “ Sheikh 
Rakhim came to our general. He had 
four hundred men with him, and declared 
that every one of the four hundred had 
taken an oath to capture Sheikh Tahar 
either dead or alive. He also said that 
he knew where the sheikh was hiding. 
Our general gave him a fine horse for a 
present. 

“ Two days later we advanced from the 
village toward a mountain. We saw 
Sheikh RakhirrTs Kurds galloping around 
at the foot of the mountain, and heard 
their guns. Between us and them was a 
large building. Our general told us to 
attack it, because Sheikh Tahar was inside 


A Battle and What Came of It 157 

it. So we spread out in a long irregular 
line, and went slowly ahead, shooting at 
the building all the while. They brought 
up one of the cannon, too, and boomed 
away, but somehow the gunners did not 
seem able to hit the building. It took us 
an hour to get close to it, and we kept 
shooting at it until its walls were full of 
bullet marks, and some of the soldiers had 
no ammunition left. But not a shot, or 
any sound or movement, came in reply. 
Finally, when we were quite near, the 
general ordered us to charge. My heart 
was in my throat, but I just shut my eyes 
and ran forward to the wall, thinking every 
step would be my last. But I heard noth¬ 
ing, and so, rushing to the door, I kicked 
it open, and looked in. I saw no one inside. 
Others came up, and we rushed in, and 
looked into all the corners, but the house 
was empty. Not a sign of a Kurd, not 


158 Our Little Persian Cousin 

even an empty cartridge shell, could we 
find. That was all there was of the battle. 

“ We waited up there a week longer, 
but no one could tell us where Sheikh 
Tahar was. So we have come home 
again.” 

A few months after this Karim bade 
good-bye to his friends at the palace, and 
went back to his home to prepare for his 
wedding. The agha sent him a fine piece 
of Persian shawl, and a handsome present 
of money, and the mirza and Nasr’ulla 
gave him a farewell dinner. He had 
an equally pleasant welcome when he 
reached his father’s house the next eve¬ 
ning, for everyone was delighted to see 
him. 

Here soon all were active in preparing 
for the wedding. Kadija busied herself 
with embroidering nearly twenty small 
caps, and knitting over a dozen pairs of 


A Battle and What Came of It 159 

red and yellow socks, which were to be 
given to Karim’s friends. Abdullah and 
Nana made a trip to the city with the 
parents and uncle of Kadija to buy her 
wedding dresses. Since Karim paid for 
them Kadija’s parents spent just as much 
money as Abdullah allowed, and of course 
he did not like to object at such a time. 
They bought a skirt of bright green silk, 
another of yellow satin, and three of 
bright coloured calico, with one jacket 
made of Persian shawl, and another of 
Damascus silk. 

Karim accompanied his parents to the 
city, and went to the palace to call upon 
the mirza. Pie was surprised to find the 
court yard full of Kurds. The mirza was 
very glad to see him, but could not enter¬ 
tain him long. 

“ Come again another day,” he said, 
“ and I will invite our friends in to have 


160 Our Little Persian Cousin 

some tea with you. Just now we are busy 
entertaining your old friend Sheikh Ta- 
har.” 

“ How is that? ” asked Karim in aston¬ 
ishment. “ I thought that the governor 
had sworn that he would never rest until 
the sheikh was brought to him in chains.” 

“ So he has,” replied the mirza, “ and 
you remember how he sent up an army 
to capture him, and how the sheikh es¬ 
caped only by making himself so small 
that no one could see him. But what can 
the agha do? This Kurdish fox, when 
he ran away from the agha’s cannon, went 
down to the city of Kerbella, and there 
he made so many prayers at the grave 
of the holy martyr Husain that the chief 
mullah of Kerbella gave him a letter 
which explained how holy a man he had 
become, and how wrong it would be for 
anyone to injure him. He came back 


A Battle and What Came of It 161 


with this letter, and what can one do? 
All the mullahs and people would be 
angry if the governor did not respect it. 
The ruler of the province has telegraphed 
that the sheikh is pardoned for what he 
did, and now the agha is giving him a 
great dinner, and I must be off to write 
an order making him the governor of six 
villages, including the one he robbed. 
And a gold star is being sent to him by 
the Shah, and a title, ‘ The Sword of the 
Kingdom.’ Our agha hopes that this will 
keep him from giving more trouble. 
Gold stars to pin on one’s breast are 
cheaper than fighting. The ammunition 
the soldiers wasted on that empty house 
cost the price of fifty stars and twenty 
dinners.” 


CHAPTER XIX 


FAREWELL TO KARIM 

As the time for Karim’s wedding ap¬ 
proached, the man who studied the skies 
was asked by Abdullah to find out what 
day would be the best for the wedding. 

“ The stars show me,” he said, “ that it 
must not occur upon the first day or upon 
the middle day of the month, or for three 
days after the full moon. These days will 
be sure to bring bad luck.” 

The mullah then went to the house of 
Shahbaz. Kadija stood behind a curtain, 
so that he could not see her — for that 
was the custom. He read some verses 
from the Koran, and then made a prayer. 
After this he asked, 

“ Kadija, daughter of Shahbaz, are you 

162 


Farewell to Karim 163 

willing to marry Karim, the son of Ab¬ 
dullah? ” 

“ Yes,” she whispered from behind the 
curtain. 

“ Very well,” said the mullah, “ since 
you yourself say that you are willing, no 
one can now object.” And he thrust a 
paper, stating this, under the curtain. 

The wedding celebration lasted three 
days, and was held in Abdullah’s house. 
There was plenty to eat, and plenty of 
music, made by a fife and drum for the 
boys and young men to dance by in the 
yard; the girls and women danced inside 
the house. Everybody in the village came 
to congratulate Abdullah, and to take din¬ 
ner. From all the villages near by the 
beggars swarmed outside in the dust of 
the street; they, too, were given some¬ 
thing to eat. 

On the last day Karim’s friends came 


164 Our Little Persian Cousin 

on horseback to Shahbaz’ house to take 
away the bride to the house of Abdullah. 
Each carried a chicken as a present. Her 
mother threw a thick red veil over Ka- 
dija, so that no one could see her, and 
they led her out and placed her upon a 
horse. Then the procession started, a man 
walking on either side of Kadija to keep 
her from falling, while another led the 
horse. The crowd began to shout and yell, 
and to fire off guns and pistols. 

The noisy procession first went to the 
house of the mullah, who scattered raisins 
for good luck over Kadija’s head. Then 
they passed on to the house of a khan, 
the agha’s tax collector, who happened 
to be in the village. He threw copper 
shahis into the street, and laughed heart¬ 
ily at the boys when they fell over each 
other trying to pick them up. 

And so at last they reached Abdullah’s 



KARIM AND HIS BRIDE 




























Farewell to Karim 165 

house, where Karim, standing upon the 
roof, tried to hit his bride with three red 
apples, which he threw while the crowd 
cheered. 

Lastly the men took Kadija from the 
horse and she was led into the house. 
This completed the ceremony. Here, for 
the first time since they had become en¬ 
gaged to be married, Karim spoke to his 
bride. 


THE END. 



BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


THE LITTLE COLONEL BOOKS 

(Trade Mark) 

By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON 
Each 1 vol., large 12 mo, doth, illustrated, per vol. . $1.50 

THE LITTLE COLONEL STORIES 

(Trade Mark) 

Being three “ Little Colonel ” stories in the Cosy Comer 
Series, “ The Little Colonel/’ “ Two Little Knights of 
Kentucky/’ and “ The Giant Scissors,” put into a single 
volume. 

THE LITTLE COLONEL’S HOUSE PARTY 

(Trade Mark) 

THE LITTLE COLONEL’S HOLIDAYS 

(Trade Mark) 

THE LITTLE COLONEL’S HERO 

(Trade Mark) 

THE LITTLE COLONEL AT BOARDING 

(Trade Mark) 

SCHOOL 

THE LITTLE COLONEL IN ARIZONA 

(Trade Mark) 

THE LITTLE COLONEL’S CHRISTMAS 

(Trade Mark) 

VACATION 

THE LITTLE COLONEL, MAID OF HONOUR 

(Trade Mark) 

THE LITTLE COLONEL’S KNIGHT COMES 

(Trade Mark) 

RIDING 

MARY WARE: THE LITTLE COLONEL’S 

(Trade Mark) 

CHUM 

These ten volumes , boxed as a ten-volume set. . $15.00 

A —1 



L. C. PAGE < 5 ^ COMPANY'S 

THE LITTLE COLONEL 

(.Trade Mark) 

TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS OF KENTUCKY 
THE GIANT SCISSORS 
BIG BROTHER 


Special Holiday Editions 

Each one volume, cloth decorative, small quarto, SI .25 
New plates, handsomely illustrated with eight full-page 
drawings in color, and many marginal sketches. 

IN THE DESERT OF WAITING: The Legend of 
Camelback Mountain. 

THE THREE WEAVERS: A Fairy Tale for 
Fathers and Mothers as Well as for Their 
Daughters. 

KEEPING TRYST 

THE LEGEND OF THE BLEEDING HEART 

THE RESCUE OF PRINCESS WINSOME: A 

Fairy Play for Old and Young. 


THE JESTER’S SWORD 

Each one volume, tall 16mo, cloth decorative . S0.50 

Paper boards..35 


There has been a constant demand for publication in 
separate form of these six stories, which were originally 
included in six of the “ Little Colonel ” books. 

JOEL : A BOY OF GALILEE : By Annie Fellows 
Johnston. Illustrated by L. J. Bridgman. 

New illustrated edition, uniform with the Little Colonel 
Books, 1 vol., large 12mo, cloth decorative . $1.50 

A story of the time of Christ, which is one of the author’s 
best-known books. 

A —2 





BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


THE LITTLE COLONEL GOOD TIMES EOOK 

Uniform in size with the Little Colonel Series. SI.50 

Bound in white kid (morocco) and gold . 3.00 

Cover design and decorations by Amy Carol Rand. 

The publishers have had many inquiries from readers 
of the Little Colonel books as to where they could obtain 
a “ Good Times Book ” such as Betty kept. Mrs. Johns¬ 
ton, who has for years kept such a book herself, has gone 
enthusiastically into the matter of the material and format 
for a similar book for her young readers. Every girl will 
want to possess a “ Good Times Book.” 

ASA HOLMES: Or, At the Cross-Roads. A sketch 
of Country Life and Country Humor. By Annie 
Fellows Johnston. 

With a frontispiece by Ernest Fosbery. 

Large 16mo, cloth, gilt top.$1.00 

“ ‘ Asa Holmes; or, At the Cross-Roads * is the most 
delightful, most sympathetic and wholesome book that 
has been published in a long while.” — Boston Times. 
THE RIVAL CAMPERS: Or, The Adventures of 
Henry Burns. By Ruel Perley Smith. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

A story of a party of typical American lads, courageous, 
alert, and athletic, who spend a summer camping on an 
island off the Maine coast. 

THE RIVAL CAMPERS AFLOAT: Or, The 

Prize Yacht Viking. By Ruel Pfrley Smith. 
Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

This book is a continuation of the adventures of “ The 
Rival Campers ” on their prize yacht Viking. 

THE RIVAL CAMPERS ASHORE 

By Ruel Perley Smith. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

“ As interesting ashore as when afloat.” — The Interior. 
JACK HARVEY’S ADVENTURES: Or, The 

Rival Campers Among the Oyster Pirates. By 
Ruel Perley Smith. Illustrated . . $1.50 

“ Just the type of book which is most popular with lads 
who are in their early teens.” — The Philadelphia Item. 

A —3 



L. C. PAGE <2r> COMPANY'S 


PRISONERS OF FORTUNE : A Tale of the Mas¬ 
sachusetts Bay Colony. By Ruel Perley Smith. 
Cloth decorative, with a colored frontispiece $1.50 
“ There is an atmosphere of old New England in the 
book, the humor of the bom raconteur about the hero, 
who tells his story with the gravity of a preacher, but with 
a solemn humor that is irresistible.” — Courier-Journal. 

FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS. By Charles H. 
L. Johnston. 

Large 12mo. With 24 illustrations . $1.50 

Biographical sketches, with interesting anecdotes and 
reminiscences of the heroes of history who were leaders 
of cavalry. 

“ More of such books should be written, books that 
acquaint young readers with historical personages in a 
pleasant informal way.” — N. Y. Sun. 

FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS. By Charles H. L. 
Johnston. 

Large 12mo, illustrated.$1.50 

In this book Mr. Johnston gives interesting sketches of 
the Indian braves who have figured with prominence in 
the history of our own land, including Powhatan, the 
Indian Caesar; Massasoit, the friend of the Puritans; 
Pontiac, the red Napoleon; Tecumseh, the famous war 
chief of the Shawnees; Sitting Bull, the famous war chief 
of the Sioux; Geronimo, the renowned Apache Chief, etc., 
etc. 

BILLY’S PRINCESS. By Helen Eggleston Has¬ 
kell. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated by Helen McCormick 

Kennedy.$1.25 

Billy Lewis was a small boy of energy and ambition, so 
when he was left alone and unprotected, he simply started 
out to take care of himself. 

TENANTS OF THE TREES. By Clarence 
Hawkes. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated in colors . . $1.50 

“ A book which will appeal to all who care for the 
hearty, healthy, outdoor life of the country. The illus¬ 
trations are particularly attractive.” — Boston Herald. 

A —4 



BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


BEAUTIFUL JOE’S PARADISE: Or, The Island 
of Brotherly Love. A sequel to “ Beautiful Joe.” 
By Marshall Saunders, author of “ Beautiful Joe.” 
One vol., library 12mo, cloth, illustrated . . $1.50 

“ This book revives the spirit of ‘ Beautiful Joe ’ capi¬ 
tally. It is fairly riotous with fun, and is about as unusual 
as anything in the animal book line that has seen the light.” 
— Philadelphia Item. 

’TILDA JANE. By Marshall Saunders. 

One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
“ I cannot think of any better book for children than 
this. I commend it unreservedly.” — Cyrus Townsend 
Brady. 

’TILDA JANE’S ORPHANS. A sequel to ’Tilda 
Jane. By Marshall Saunders. 

One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
’Tilda Jane is the same original, delightful girl, and as 
fond of her animal pets as ever. 


THE STORY OF THE GRAVELEYS. By Mar¬ 
shall Saunders, author of “ Beautiful Joe’s Para¬ 
dise,” “ ’Tilda Jane,” etc. 

Library 12mo, cloth decorative. Illustrated by E. B. 
Barry ......... $1.50 

Here we have the haps and mishaps, the trials and 
triumphs, of a delightful New England family, of whose 
devotion and sturdiness it will do the reader good to hear. 


BORN TO THE BLUE. By Florence Kimball 
Russel. 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.25 

The atmosphere of army life on the plains breathes on 
every page of this delightful tale. The boy is the son of a 
captain of U. S. cavalry stationed at a frontier post in the 
days when our regulars earned the gratitude of a nation. 

A — 5 




L. C. PAGE &> COMPANY'S 


IN WEST POINT GRAY 

By Florence Kimball Russel. 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.50 

“ Singularly enough one of the best books of the year 
for boys is written by a woman and deals with life at West 
Point. The presentment of life in the famous military 
academy whence so many heroes have graduated is realistic 
and enjoyable.” — New York Sun. 

FROM CHEVRONS TO SHOULDER STRAPS 

By Florence Kimball Russel. 

12mo, cloth, illustrated, decorative . . . $1.50 

West Point again forms the background of a new volume 
in this popular series, and relates the experience of Jack 
Stirling during his junior and senior years. 

THE SANDMAN: HIS FARM STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins. With fifty illustrations by 
Ada Clendenin Williamson. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover . . $1.50 

“ An amusing, original book, written for the benefit of 
very small children. It should be one of the most popular 
of the year’s books for reading to small children.” — 
Buffalo Express. 

THE SANDMAN: MORE FARM STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
Mr. Hopkins’s first essay at bedtime stories met with 
such approval that this second book of “ Sandman ” tales 
was issued for scores of eager children. Life on the farm, 
and out-of-doors, is portrayed in his inimitable manner. 

THE SANDMAN: HIS SHIP STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins, author of “ The Sandman: 
His Farm Stories,” etc. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
“ Children call for these stories over and over again.” — 
Chicago Evening Post. 

A —6 




BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


THE SANDMAN, HIS SEA STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
Each year adds to the popularity of this unique series 
of stories to be read to the little ones at bed time and at 
other times. 

THE DOCTOR’S LITTLE GIRL 

By Marion Ames Taggart, author of “ Pussy-Cat 
Town,” etc. 

One vol., library 12mo, illustrated . . $1.50 

A thoroughly enjoyable tale of a little girl'and her com¬ 
rade father, written in a delightful vein of sympathetic 
comprehension of the child’s point of view. 

SWEET NANCY 

The Further Adventures op the Doctor’s Little 
Girl. By Marion Ames Taggart. 

One vol., library, 12mo, illustrated . $1.50 

In the new book, the author tells how Nancy becomes 
in fact “ the doctor’s assistant,” and continues to shed 
happiness around her. 

THE CHRISTMAS-MAKERS’ CLUB 

By Edith A. Sawyer. 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 

A delightful story for girls, full of the real spirit of 
Christmas. It abounds in merrymaking and the right 
kind of fun. 

CARLOTA 

A Story of the San Gabriel Mission. By Frances 
Margaret Fox. 

Square 12mo. cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated 
in colors by Ethelind Ridgway . $1.00 

“It is a pleasure to recommend this little story as an 
entertaining contribution to juvenile literature.” — The 
New York Sun. 

THE SEVEN CHRISTMAS CANDLES 

By Frances Margaret Fox. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco¬ 
rated in colors by Ethelind Ridgway . . $1.00 

Miss Fox’s new book deals with the fortunes of the de¬ 
lightful Mulvaney children. 

A —7 



L. C. PAGE & COMPANY'S 


PUSSY-CAT TOWN 

By Marion Ames Taggart. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco¬ 
rated in colors.$1.00 

“ Anything more interesting than the doings of the cats 
in this story, their humor, their wisdom, their patriotism, 
would be hard to imagine.” — Chicago Post. 

THE ROSES OF SAINT ELIZABETH 

By Jane Scott Woodruff. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated 
in colors by Adelaide Everhart $1.00 

This is a charming little story of a child whose father was 
caretaker of the great castle of the Wartburg, where Saint 
Elizabeth once had her home. 

GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK 

By Evaleen Stein. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco¬ 
rated in colors by Adelaide Everhart . $1.00 

Gabriel was a loving, patient, little French lad, who 
assisted the monks in the long ago days, when all the books 
were written and illuminated by hand, in the monasteries. 

THE ENCHANTED AUTOMOBILE 

Translated from the French by Mary J. Safford 
Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco¬ 
rated in colors by Edna M. Sawyer $1.00 

“ An up-to-date French fairy-tale which fairly radiates 
the spirit of the hour, — unceasing diligence.” — Chicago 
Record-Herald. 

O-HEART-SAN 

The Story of a Japanese Girl. By Helen Eggles¬ 
ton Haskell. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco¬ 
rated in colors by Frank P. Fairbanks $1.00 

“ The story comes straight from the heart of Japan. 
The shadow of Fujiyama lies across it and from every 
page breathes the fragrance of tea leaves, cherry blossoms 
and chrysanthemums.” — The Chicago Inter-Ocean. 

A —8 



BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


THE YOUNG SECTION-HAND: Or, The Adven¬ 
tures of Allan West. By Burton E. Stevenson. 
Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 

Mr. Stevenson's hero is a manly lad of sixteen, who is 
given a chance as a section-hand on a big Western rail¬ 
road, and whose experiences are as real as they are thrilling. 

THE YOUNG TRAIN DISPATCHER. By Bur¬ 
ton E. Stevenson. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

“ A better book for boys has never left an American 
press." — Springfield, Union. 

THE YOUNG TRAIN MASTER. By Burton E. 

Stevenson. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

“ Nothing better in the way of a book of adventure for 
boys in which the actualities of life are set forth in a practi¬ 
cal way could be devised or written." — Boston Herald. 

CAPTAIN JACK LORIMER. By Winn Standish. 
Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

Jack is a fine example of the all-around American high- 
school boy. 

JACK LORIMER’S CHAMPIONS: Or, Sports on 
Land and Lake. By Winn Standish. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

“ It is exactly the sort of book to give a boy interested 
in athletics, for it shows him what it means to always 
‘ play fair.’ " — Chicago Tribune. 

JACK LORIMER’S HOLIDAYS: Or, Millvale 
High in Camp. By Winn Standish. 

Illustrated.$1.50 

Full of just the kind of fun, sports and adventure to 
excite the healthy minded youngster to emulation. 

JACK LORIMER’S SUBSTITUTE: Or. The Act¬ 
ing Captain of the Team. By Winn Standish. 

Illustrated.$1.50 

On the sporting side, this book takes up football, wres¬ 
tling, tobogganing, but it is more of a school story perhaps 
than any of its predecessors. 

— 9 





Z. C. PAGE & COMPANY'S 


CAPTAIN JINKS: The Autobiography of a Shet¬ 
land Pony. By Frances Hodges White. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 

The story of Captain Jinks and his faithful dog friend 
Billy, their quaint conversations and their exciting 
adventures, will be eagerly read by thousands of boys and 
girls. The story is beautifully written and will take its 
place alongside of “ Black Beauty ” and “ Beautiful Joe.” 

THE RED FEATHERS. By Theodore Roberts. 
Cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.50 

“ The Red Feathers ” tells of the remarkable adventures 
of an Indian boy who lived in the Stone Age, many years 
ago, when the world was young. 

FLYING PLOVER. By Theodore Roberts. 

Cloth decorative. Illustrated by Charles Livingston 

Bull.$1.00 

Squat-By-The-Fire is a very old and wise Indian who 
lives alone with her grandson, “ Flying Plover,” to whom 
she tells the stories each evening. 

THE WRECK OF THE OCEAN QUEEN. By 

James Otis, author of “ Larry Hudson’s Ambition,” etc. 
Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 

“ A stirring story of wreck and mutiny, which boys will 
find especially absorbing. The many young admirers of 
James Otis will not let this book escape them, for it fully 
equals its many predecessors in excitement and sustained 
interest.” — Chicago Evening Post. 

LITTLE WHITE INDIANS. By Fannie E. Os¬ 
trander. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated .... $1.25 

“ A bright, interesting story which will appeal strongly 
to the ‘ make-believe ’ instinct in children, and will 
give them a healthy, active interest in ‘the simple life.’” 

MARCHING WITH MORGAN. How Donald 
Lovell Became a Soldier of the Revolution. 
By John L. Veasy. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.50 

This is a splendid boy’s story of the expedition of 
Montgomery and Arnold against Quebec. 

A—10 




BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


COSY CORNER SERIES 

It is the intention of the publishers that this series shall 
contain only the very highest and purest literature, — 
stories that shall not only appeal to the children them¬ 
selves, but be appreciated by all those who feel with 
them in their joys and sorrows. 

The numerous illustrations in each book are by well- 
known artists, and each volume has a separate attract¬ 
ive cover design. 

Each 1 vol., 16mo, cloth.$0.50 

By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON 

THE LITTLE COLONEL (Trade Mark.) 

The scene of this story is laid in Kentucky. Its hero¬ 
ine is a small girl, who is known as the Little Colonel, 
on account of her fancied resemblance to an old-school 
Southern gentleman, whose fine estate and old family 
are famous in the region. 

THE GIANT SCISSORS 

This is the story of Joyce and of her adventures in 
France. Joyce is a great friend of the Little Colonel, 
and in later volumes shares with her the delightful ex¬ 
periences of the “ House Party ” and the “ Holidays.” 

TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS OF KENTUCKY 

Who Were the Little Colonel’s Neighbors. 

In this volume the Little Colonel returns to us like an 
old friend, but with added grace and charm. She is not, 
however, the central figure of the story, that place being 
taken by the “ two little knights.” 

MILDRED’S INHERITANCE 

A delightful little story of a lonely English girl who 
comes to America and is befriended by a sympathetic 
American family who are attracted by her beautiful 
speaking voice. By means of this one gift she is en¬ 
abled to help a school-girl who has temporarily lost the 
use of her eyes, and thus finally her life becomes a busy, 
happy one. 

A —11 



L. C. PAGE <5r» COMPANY'S 


By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON (Continued) 

CICELY AND OTHER STORIES FOR GIRLS 

The readers of Mrs. Johnston's charming juveniles 
will be glad to learn of the issue of this volume for young 
people. 

AUNT ’LIZA’S HERO AND OTHER STORIES 

A collection of six bright little stories, which will appeal 
to all boys and most girls. 

BIG BROTHER 

A story of two boys. The devotion and care of Stephen, 
himself a small boy, for his baby brother, is the theme of 
the simple tale. 

OLE MAMMY’S TORMENT 

“ Ole Mammy's Torment ” has been fitly called “ a 
classic of Southern life.” It relates the haps and mis¬ 
haps of a small negro lad, and tells how he was led by 
love and kindness to a knowledge of the right. 

THE STORY OF DAGO 

In this story Mrs. Johnston relates the story of Dago, 
a pet monkey, owned jointly by two brothers Dago 
tells his own story, and the account of his haps and mis¬ 
haps is both interesting and amusing. 

THE QUILT THAT JACK BUILT 

A pleasant little story of a boy’s labor of love, and how 
it changed the course of his life many years after it was 
accomplished. 

FLIP’S ISLANDS OF PROVIDENCE 

A story of a boy’s life battle, his early defeat, and his 
final triumph, well worth the reading. 

A —12 



BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


By EDITH ROBINSON 

A LITTLE PURITAN’S FIRST CHRISTMAS 

A story of Colonial times in Boston, telling how Christ¬ 
mas was invented by Betty Sewall, a typical child of the 
Puritans, aided by her brother Sam. 

A LITTLE DAUGHTER OF LIBERTY 

The author introduces this story as follows: 

“ One ride is memorable in the early history of the 
American Revolution, the well-known ride of Paul 
Revere. Equally deserving of commendation is another 
ride, — the ride of Anthony Severn, — which was no less 
historic in its action or memorable in its consequences. ,, 

A LOYAL LITTLE MAID 

A delightful and interesting story of Revolutionary 
days, in which the child heroine, Betsey Schuyler, renders 
important services to George Washington. 

A LITTLE PURITAN REBEL 

This is an historical tale of a real girl, during the time 
when the gallant Sir Harry Vane was governor of Massa¬ 
chusetts. 

A LITTLE PURITAN PIONEER 

The scene of this story is laid in the Puritan settlement 
at Charlestown. 

A LITTLE PURITAN BOUND GIRL 

A story of Boston in Puritan days, which is of great 
interest to youthful readers. 

A LITTLE PURITAN CAVALIER 

The story of a “ Little Puritan Cavalier ” who tried 
with all his boyish enthusiasm to emulate the spirit and 
ideals of the dead Crusaders. 

A PURITAN KNIGHT ERRANT 

The story tells of a young lad in Colonial times who 
endeavored to carry out the high ideals of the knights 
of olden days. 

A—13 



Z. C. PAGE <5r» COMPANY'S 


By OUIDA {Louise de la Ramee) 

A DOG OF FLANDERS 

A Christmas Story 

Too well and favorably known to require description. 

THE NURNBERG STOVE 

This beautiful story has never before been published 
at a popular price. 

By FRANCES MARGARET FOX 

THE LITTLE GIANT’S NEIGHBOURS 

A charming nature story of a “ little giant ” whose 
neighbors were the creatures of the field and garden. 

FARMER BROWN AND THE BIRDS 

A little story which teaches children that the birds are 
man’s best friends. 

BETTY OF OLD MACKINAW 

A charming story of child life. 

BROTHER BILLY 

The story of Betty’s brother, and some further adven¬ 
tures of Betty herself. 

MOTHER NATURE’S LITTLE ONES 

Curious little sketches describing the early lifetime, or 
“ childhood,” of the little creatures out-of-doors. 

HOW CHRISTMAS CAME TO THE MUL- 
VANEYS 

A bright, lifelike little story of a family of poor children 
with an unlimited capacity for fun and mischief. 

THE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS 

Miss Fox has vividly described the happy surprises that 
made the occasion so memorable to the Mulvaneys, and 
the funny things the children did in their new environ¬ 
ment. 

A—14 





























































































































































































« ■ 
















































-.i 




































































































. 





















































































































































































































































Hi II 11 n 


1 1 s* i: t 


s ; 




- i' 








C ‘ £ 


t -t 




e 7 i . £ 


HI 


iw 


» t . -». , l 


:t re 


‘i 


if i J 5 i: 


t ? t 


11 


ihrt; 


eferreliflt ii 


«. • c 


c -r 


I 7t 


l \ t \X 7- 3t J t £ v £ 

* e + r* f 


• &• 


: i:::t t r 


^ * f • <* * ^ >»» »* ^ 

* ^ | » • fc f , * > ' «•> ^ k 


h x i i ; t s x x i f * 

t < $ - 

4 x5i £ t 


* ; t 4 Mfc? 


it v C|i 

sU'^SfRV* 


;t ;t 


*. r 




-IC-± £. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


c: t ; 





□ODESHflEl u l 


t is 


v 






J 


t;t -t £ s l £ * si •?* h; 1 h?: HiiVW<; •; :; 

-. ?i hi =i j 1 f I ill iif£s -*f. : t -: 

s ; t 4 . , i * cf'ci l„: .» tjt Tf ■; "t . : 

: i'iU 1 5 h<-*h*«i 2 i!S Jhhh i? t; Uh 




11 


i i i 
*t; 
11 




>, 1 







* V.:; ■ 1; I *; *. :i : t Vi • i 5 : ii ** t *■ 

‘ 4 * t : *}t {<*«•€£ licit,* 11 - *1 t . ; . 1 *• ii' :$ : t xilil? 

1 [t: I j :f t ;t l : it jt- t { 2 r i i ’ L ; ; ; it: t H : c * l : I 

i it 1 * 1 c s * 1 t k ; * r t • i " ' £ : : i1tU;i * £ T • : t 1 1 r t C 1 

. : 4 : t| : i * t : t 5t t tj i r : } |2- .• i i t 

i ii* t tt: c Vi ! 5 Stic HftY t : 1 :: t ^: 4 2 l £ t4t 

.^ ; £ l ill *- >1} t r t ji? i 1 itlft 

l j£ 4 : 1*1 i : . % tjtjtllf < \ *1 : l : h. Zt-j^r i{ ) i\ - Hj t£t*t 

' : : t 4 : , r. i t I t i t i t* t: £ 4 4 4 5 ' l 11 t 1 £ : w ; t: 4i £, i t T ti.t 


t t 

■ i **•»**■ f L 

* - W l < A,._ 

• • » • b 


M >X 5.1 


■ t« ( > l 

i V 4 . ► . 



L - .^2 C £ L c c l c r Hit 1 1 t i 1 1 ?I 1 : 1 ' ‘x'c 4 i - c ; - 3tT 

;ill mil i Hi ii r i tflm * : 'flule 

c £ *?5 tlit lit hi nR5I*H !; u L t5htM5lvJlitit 5H 1 

L ) s r t r c t : : l ) t ^ c t : ‘ 13; * : : ; ■; l : c 4 : 5 i \ i i . : x ? t : : t: t * * 



< 3 i ? * * ti; Tt-r t-i ; 

.t - . 


: t, t * t: l 


; f ^t \\ { i f i 1 i 1 111 i i 

I l L i I . . L . I b . 4 . f 

l . .'.I £ f LJL, L 

t+* • f « * « tf 4 S t 

if 


t: i 


: : t 


















































































































